A little afterthought to Jess's wedding, with a hot summer night's bit of steaminess included and a soundtrack to match:
Leonard Cohen - Light As The Breeze
She stands before you naked
you can see it, you can taste it,
and she comes to you light as the breeze.
Now you can drink it or you can nurse it,
it don't matter how you worship
as long as you're
down on your knees.
So I knelt there at the delta,
at the alpha and the omega,
at the cradle of the river and the seas.
And like a blessing come from heaven
for something like a second
I was healed and my heart
was at ease.
Oh baby I waited
so long for your kiss
for something to happen,
oh something like this.
And you're weak and you're harmless
and you're sleeping in your harness
and the wind going wild
in the trees,
and it ain't exactly prison
but you'll never be forgiven
for whatever you've done
with the keys.
Oh baby I waited ...
Jess was catching her breath between dances, laughing and chatting with a couple of friends.
First she thought someone had jostled her in passing, but then there was a tiny tug on the hem of her dress and a young voice whispered, "Auntie Jess?"
She turned away from Linda and Francine and found herself face to face with her niece.
Annie appeared quite distressed as she asked, "Auntie Jess, have you seen Mommy and Daddy? I can't find them!"
Jess looked about and found that Mick had indeed disappeared from where he had been sitting all the time since the dancing had started. He wasn't at any of the other tables either.
She scanned the dance floor doubtfully. She didn't really believe he would have changed his mind about that, and of course he wasn't there. Neither was Evelyn, although she had seen her dancing both with Vincent and with Oliver earlier.
"Maybe they … they had to go to the bathroom?" Jess suggested, still trying to make out her brother's tall figure or Evelyn's copper hair.
"At the same time?" Annie was not convinced.
"Well, then perhaps they've gone outside for a breath of fresh air. Shall we go and have a look?"
Annie nodded eagerly but then pointed at her feet with a worried expression. "Um, Auntie Jess … I think I can't go outside. I've lost my shoes."
"And your socks, too. Oh, Annie!" Jess wasn't sure whether to laugh or to be angry as she looked down on Annie's little pink feet. "Well … would you mind staying here for a moment with Linda and Francie? I'll go and see if I can find Mommy and Daddy for you."
Linda smiled brightly at Annie. "Shall you and I look for your shoes meanwhile?"
"Oh-kay." The little girl nodded dutifully, still looking unhappy.
Linda expertly lifted Annie up to sit on her hip and made for the other side of the dance floor where the kids had been hopping about earlier, while Jess gathered up her skirts and headed towards the French doors.
She was quite sure she would find her brother outside, trying to escape the big crowd, having a smoke.
Indeed one of the doors was ajar.
She pushed it open, but she couldn't see anyone outside.
Behind her, the music was in full swing again after a short pause, playing one of those decades-old tunes that Oliver liked so much, the kind of song she liked to listen but not to dance to.
Just to make sure she hadn't missed anything, she poked her head around the door and couldn't help a sharp little intake of breath that was not quite a sigh.
There they were, Mick and Evelyn, her beautiful big brother and his lovely companion, moving ever so softly, ever so tenderly in the sparse light of the moon.
Jess watched them for a moment or two before she silently retreated, feeling like she had been intruding on something very private, very precious.
She closed the door without a sound, smiling quietly to herself, and decided not to tell anyone what she had just witnessed.
This moment should be theirs entirely, dancing with nobody watching, the absence of spectators giving Mick the ease and confidence he had lacked in the face of the crowded dance floor earlier on.
She went back to the party, laughing at Patrick and some other friends of Oliver's putting on a very silly and very funny show on the dance floor, and when Annie showed up again, her once-white shoes back on her feet, she told her that Mommy and Daddy had taken a little walk in the garden and would be back very soon.
"But I want them now", Annie whined in a slightly cranky tone that suggested she was way past her usual bedtime.
"They won't be long. I promise." Jess racked her brain for something that might keep her niece sweet for just a little longer. Stroking Annie's silky, tangled curls soothingly, she finally had an idea.
She picked one of the orange blossoms from her hair and held it out to the little one. "Until they're back here, do you want to put some of those into your hair? What do you think? That'd look nice, wouldn't it? Shall we share them between us?"
Annie nodded earnestly, and after she had admired her reflection in Francine's small pocket mirror, she scrambled into Jess's lap and fell asleep with her flushed face pressed into the neckline of her aunt's wedding dress just as her parents returned from the garden.
"Oh, she's asleep." Mick's face grew soft at the sight of the slumbering child. "I guess all that dancing was too much for her."
He bent down and gently took her off Jess, who watched him with a wistful twinge in her heart.
With the nightly garden dark and fragrant around us and the sky above an immense black canopy spangled with stars, he kept holding me close after the dance had ended.
The muted strains of a jolly polka tune set in after a tiny pause, but we did not move. We remained there in each other's arms, in the shadows just off the patio, his chin against my forehead, his nose brushing my temple as he finally moved to seek the corner of my mouth.
I tilted my head back and responded to his kiss, softly at first, then greedier as a glowing desire kindled deep within.
He seemed to sense it and drew me even closer into him, one hand firmly pressing into the small of my back while the other ran along the outline of my shoulder blade and down my spine until it came to rest on my backside, moving gently.
I reached up, pushed two fingers underneath the knot of his tie and pulled it loose and away from his neck, smiling involuntarily when I found he had once again left the top button of his shirt open beneath the impeccable knot.
I undid another and caressed the little hollow between his collarbones with a fingertip, tracing the edges of the triangle of skin I had freed from the confines of shirt and tie, drawing a line up towards his chin and along his jaw.
He gave a tiny sound of pleasure and, his big warm hand cupping the back of my neck, kissed me again, harder this time.
"Do you really want to go back to the party?" he whispered with a throaty chuckle when he released me.
"Well, if I'm completely hon- Argh!" I jumped and cried out involuntarily when a bird burst from one of the bushes with a loud rustle of wings and foliage.
Mick cursed the intruder rudely, and both of us laughed.
"We'd probably better go back inside", I suggested. "We needn't stay on for much longer if you'd rather …" I let the sentence trail off meaningfully.
"I would rather! Don't you think the brother of the bride is entitled to a wedding night of his own?" With a wry, mischievous grin, he adjusted his tie and strode towards the door with renewed energy.
We had taken our leave as quickly and as inconspicuously as we could, Annie having fallen asleep giving us a perfect excuse to retire.
Mick had carried her to the car, and she had never woken up all the way back to the hotel, not even when he had laid her down on the sofa bed and I cautiously peeled her out of her party dress and tucked her in. All the time, she was still clutching a crumpled orange blossom in her tight little fist.
When I went through into the adjoining bedroom of the modest suite we occupied, he had already taken off his jacket and draped it carelessly over the back of a chair.
The overhead lights were off, with only the two shaded bedside lamps giving off their golden-hued glow. He stood by the small dresser unbuttoning his waistcoat, his tie half undone, his hair a little rumpled, the usual stubble beginning to darken his chin and jaw.
I walked over to him, still in my heels, and our eyes met for a silent moment before he seized me for a wild, greedy, long kiss. I felt his hand twisting into my hair at the nape of my neck and in turn threaded my fingers through his curls, pressed my body into his, feeling him harden.
Our mouths still firmly locked, tongues touching and teasing over and over again, he began caressing my back, quickly, hungrily, seeking the zipper at the back of my dress, opening it carefully, slipping the silk first off my left shoulder, then off the right.
I lowered my arms and simply let the dress slide away completely and crumple into a shimmering puddle around my feet.
His large warm hand found my left breast, circled the nipple without actually touching it, making me moan a little.
I stepped out of my shoes, extracted my feet from the tangles of my dress, removed his tie as he got rid of the waistcoat and began to open his shirt, slowly undoing one tiny button after another. He reached out and softly traced the outline of my arm with a sweet tickle that made me tingle all over.
Barely able to restrain myself, I yanked his shirttails out of his pants to deal with the last few buttons and strip the shirt off him, impatient to get to the heart of the matter, resting my face against the drizzle of soft dark hair on his chest while my hands squeezed his taut little buttocks through the fabric of his pants.
He pressed against me so I could feel his hardness, fanning my desire even more. He kissed me on the forehead and murmured into my hair, "I want you. Now. Here."
"You'll need to get out of those pants first", I replied a little breathlessly.
He chuckled and, with his shoulders against the wall for balance, one arm still around me, hastily did away with the obstacle.
I leaned in for another kiss, then drew back, taking his hand.
"Where do you think you're goin'?" he demanded hoarsely.
I pointed at the bed with a quizzical face.
He shook his head and pulled me close once more, seizing my backside to hoist me up, something he had never done before.
I clung to his neck and wrapped my legs around his waist. He gently shifted me into position, and I leaned back, excitedly waiting for what would happen next, ready to let him do anything he wanted, arching my back a little more and –
With a startled gasp, I found myself slipping, falling, upsetting the delicate balance we had found, bringing Mick down with me as I tumbled backwards onto the bed.
He ended up half on top of me, grimacing a little, and I winced, too, fearing the worst.
"Did you hurt yourself?" I asked regretfully.
To my infinite relief, he shook his head. "Everything's fine, just the leg knocked askew. But - are you okay? I guess it was a dumb idea to do it up against the wall", he said in an equally contrite tone.
"No, it wasn't. But now that we've landed in bed, we might as well go on here."
"So you still want me?"
"Why shouldn't I?"
"I dropped you! I'm such a …"
"Oh, shut up, will you?" I took his face into both hands and pulled him in for yet another kiss, and his resistance, if there ever had been any, melted immediately.
There was a small pause when he turned away to remove the leg and asked, "Evelyn … what about Annie?"
"What about her?"
"What if she heard us? What if she comes in?"
"That child has been sleeping through thunderstorms and fire alarms, and besides, she's totally exhausted. She's not going to interrupt us. Now come back to me. You've got a job to finish."
With a low, mocking snarl, he flipped over and grabbed me, covering me with kisses until he arrived at my breasts and closed his lips around one nipple, tweaking it just a bit, just hard enough to drive me wild and make me even wetter than before.
He proceeded further down, first teasing the tiny delicate bud with a fingertip, then making it swell even more with a tantalizing tongue.
"Ohhh … you're killing me!"
I squirmed under that sweet torture, stifling a cry when I came.
"Don't you think this is over already", he whispered raunchily and moved underneath me so I could sit astride him.
He swiftly advanced to where he wanted to go, filling me, rekindling the fire that had never entirely gone out, and I took him for a fierce hot ride, his short, quick thrusts against my weight setting me aflame in all the right spots until he gave a subdued groan, clasping my butt so hard that it was almost painful, and I was shaken by another skyrocketing climax only seconds later.
For a moment, neither of us stirred, both of us panting softly.
"Not that tired after all, were you, huh?" he murmured with a crooked grin.
I just smiled back at him.
Now the rush of passion was over, the long day made itself felt, and I was pleasantly drowsy and let my head rest against his, ready to fall asleep there and then, not caring that we had not even turned down the beds and were still lying on top of the counterpane.
Mick didn't seem to mind either. He didn't move, except to enfold me in a warm, snug embrace.
It was the perfect ending to this day of celebration, I thought, still smiling happily as I floated away towards blissful sleep.
"Mommy? Daddy?"
I sighed and buried my face in Mick's armpit.
That voice wasn't real. I was only dreaming, wasn't I?
"Mommy! Daddy!"
Not dreaming, then. A real, live kid, thirsty or hungry or in need of the loo, which she was perfectly capable of using alone but probably couldn't find in this unfamiliar place. A real kid that was not going to go away.
"Hmmm?" Unwillingly, I raised my head so I could just peer over Mick's other shoulder.
"Mommy!" Tears were springing from her eyes, and she looked quite terrified, standing in the half-open door.
I surrendered, suppressing another sigh as I disentangled myself from Mick's arms and got up, shivering now.
"Annie! What's the matter? Why are you crying?"
I padded over on bare feet, almost tripping on one of my own shoes, kicking it out of the way.
She remained standing in the doorway, frozen, distressed, until I squatted in front of her and hugged her to my chest. She sobbed and sniffed and sobbed again, and I couldn't get any sensible word out of her.
Mick had covered himself strategically with a corner of the counterpane and propped himself up on his elbows, watching us anxiously.
"What is it, Annie Meg? What's eating you? Come on, tell me", he coaxed.
She tore away from me and hurled herself at her dad, threw her arms around his neck, her little chest heaving. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"
"Ssshh. Calm down. Everything's alright. I'm here. Mommy's here. Now spit it out. Tell us what's wrong." He carefully pried one of her arms loose and tilted her face up towards his.
She recoiled and pressed her face into his chest again, mortified, mumbling something unintelligible.
He gave me a look of desperation above Annie's head, helplessly stroking her curls, and I shrugged.
I had no idea what she was on about either.
I slipped on my nightie and sat beside them on the edge of the bed, feeling her forehead to check whether she had a temperature, which occasionally happened when she had been overexcited.
Finally, tears still flowing freely, she whispered, "I'm so glad you didn't get killed, Mommy."
"Get … get killed?" I repeated slowly. "Why should I … where on earth did you get that idea?"
"But … you said 'You're killing me', didn't you?"
"What? I didn't say … Oh." I fell silent as it dawned on me that I had indeed said that, and when I had said it.
Now it all came bubbling out of her. "Yes, you did! I woke up, and I couldn't go back to sleep any more, and I wanted to come and sleep in the big bed with you, and then you made such funny noises and you said 'Oh! Oh! You're killing me', and it sounded so strange!"
From the corner of my eye, I saw Mick biting back a grin. Her impersonation was quite accurate.
"And Daddy made funny noises, too, and I thought there was a bad man in your room killing you, and I didn't dare come in because I didn't …" She gulped and sniveled and went on in a tiny choked voice, "I was so scared!"
"Oh, Annie, Annie, you imagine way too much. Everything's fine. We're both alright, Daddy and I, and there is no bad man or anything. Nothing to be scared of." I squeezed her shoulder in affirmation and ruefully kissed my fantasy of a lovely twosome summer night goodbye. "You can sleep here with us, if you like."
"May I really?"
I nodded, and her face brightened considerably. She even managed a smile, still safely ensconced in her father's arms.
"Of course. Now, Annie Meg, would you do me a favour and get my jammies?" Mick asked her. "I think I left them in the bathroom."
Annie scampered off towards the en-suite bath, and he quickly threw off the counterpane and slipped between the sheets, giving me a look of mixed amusement and guilt that exactly mirrored my own feelings.
When she came back, she seemed to have recovered quite a bit, her tears dried, her face confident again as she proudly handed over Mick's folded pajamas and, cocking her head thoughtfully, asked, "Daddy … why did you and Mommy make such funny noises? And why've you got nothing on?"
Mick, in the process of wriggling into his pajama pants underneath the covers, looked up and spluttered, his cheeks turning a flaming shade of pink. "Um … we … we were both feeling rather … hot, uh, warm, I mean, and … and we were just … horsing around a bit … playing … games … making silly noises ..."
I bent to pick up the counterpane off the floor, folded it very slowly and very carefully and bit my lips very hard to keep from laughing, but a little snort escaped me nevertheless when Annie exclaimed, "Oh, I know! You had a tickling match!" and he stammered, "Yeah ... sort of."
"Was it fun?"
"Oh … yes. A lot of fun. But it was also quite tiring." He gave a not-too-convincing yawn. "We really ought to turn in now, don't you think?"
There was a rustle of sheets behind me, and Annie called out, "Mommy, aren't you coming? Daddy's tired and wants to sleep."
"Coming, Annie. Just a second." I made an effort to wipe the grin off my face before I turned round and joined them in the bed where, after a bit of shuffling and shifting to find the perfect position for all three of us, I drifted off quickly.
Only to be interrupted again by a young voice.
"Did you really have a tickling match, Daddy?"
His only answer was a faint snore, so she answered her question herself.
"Humph, he's asleep. I guess all that tickling was too much for him."