She was there, cheerful as ever, standing as proud as a wife could. I was a mere few inches taller than her, but she came right up against my chest. Smiling at the thought of her resting her head against my shoulder, I eyed the brown curls cascading down her shoulders. Admiring the pretty ringlets as always, a single finger wrapped its way around the strand of hair. We locked eyes, and the palm of her hand touched my stubble against my chin.

"Evenin' Ben. How was your day?" Ruthie smiled. "She looks to be in a good mood," I thought to myself. After all, she probably missed me. She seemed quite starved for conversation. I figure she was alone in the trailer again, keeping busy with laundry and other chores. When we weren't working shows, that's usually what she does. I smiled and leaned in to kiss her gently on the lips.

"Same as always." It was the truth. We usually cleaned up after shows, or fixed broken rides, depending on what was going on. Jonesy made sure everything worked like clockwork, which was how he worked. We worked the carnival like clockwork, and cleaned up pretty quickly, so that was a good thing. He wanted to get home to his Libby, and I wanted to return to Ruthie's side. That was the one thing that we bonded over.

Women.

Jonesy has given me lots of good advice over the last year with my relationship with Ruthie. He told me to treat her right, and with respect, and if I was to do that, she'd likely do the same. I do, and she reciprocates. Our relationship has its rocks, but we've hung in there for the last year or so. I love Ruthie, and she loves me. She'd do anything for me, and I for her. I looked into her big brown eyes and she took my hands in hers. They felt smooth and soft against my work worn hands.

"I won't begin to tell you about my day…unless you want to know." She laughed, tossing her head back cheerfully. I was quite intrigued.

"Tell me." I pleaded. I was interested in what my wife did while I was away. It was, after all, important to her. She smiled.

"I washed our laundry, cleaned the trailer, and did the banking. We're doing quite nicely."

I was pleased. The influx in customers to the carnival recently helped increase the paycheck. We were worried for a while, but since the war began, money got a little bit tight. This was quite a nice surprise. It was a good thing I did not want children. It wasn't because I don't like 'em…because, well, I like them. I just didn't want one of my own to inherit what I was given. It cursed me as a child; I did not want it to curse them. Most of the girls my age sought marriage and a family. I did marry, but to a woman who was too old to bear more children. We married a few years after we met, and she could tell you stories about how I used to avoid her like the plague. I knew women like her. Ruthie is a strong willed woman who, for the longest time slept with nearly every man she could get. One of those men fathered Gabriel. She will never tell me who, but I don't wish to know. I was the one who got Ruthie to settle down. She fell for me, and for the first year or two, I dodged her attempts at seducing me, but eventually it got me. I fell for her too. After my battle with Brother Justin, she nursed me back to health, tending to my scar every single day. Those months that I was laid up, she and I grew closer. Every day, she'd read me newspaper clippings, talk to me, even sometimes sing a little. That woman could carry a tune beautifully. I'm always telling her she has a gorgeous voice. A sexy and sensuous voice that would make my head turn every time she called me inside. I'd smile and she'd acknowledge my smile, beckoning me to come inside or the food would get cold. Ruthie was my shining light through the days I was laid up, she always made me laugh, and she always made me smile. We also had another surprise occur.

I kissed her for the first time since the ill fated night we made love.

Her response was to wrap her arms around me, pulling me in closer to her. I could feel the warmth of her body, emulating off of her. We were not naked, at least not yet. I intended to start slow and if she was for it, then we could go farther. But, for now, I began by holding her in my arms. I was still healing from my injury, so I wanted to be careful. Ruthie seemed satisfied with that. We sat there, with her in my arms, smiling. She seemed content with the fact that I was there with her.

She nuzzled gently against my neck, the tip of her nose brushing against my shoulder. I smiled, and put my arms around her waist. Scooting closer, she wrapped her legs around my waist, and I couldn't resist stroking her thick calves. She shuddered as I gripped her thigh, and allowed my hand to rest there, making direct contact with her skin. Ruthie kicked her boots off and gently we lay down on the soft bed, her tight ringlets falling against the pillow. I had an inkling she wanted to make love, but decided not to press it just yet. I inched up closer to her, so our eyes could meet each others. She looked up at me, smiling, as her hands went to unbutton her blouse. "Maybe she wanted it," I thought to myself, but I held myself back. I wanted to take it slow.

Ruthie looked up at me, and shrugged a little. "I was thinkin' about you today. Still not used to this marriage thing, but we're making it, eh?" he smiled. It must have been hard for her to stop snake charming, and now semi retiring from bartering. Libby helped her out on that one. It was Ruthie's favor to Jonesy---to keep Libby in a clean and respectable business. Libby took to bartering like water, and Ruthie was pleased.

"Yeah," I said, brushing a stray bang away from Ruthie's face. I still wasn't used to it myself, even after being married nearly two whole years. My arms slowly wrapped around her waist, and pulled her closer to me, her breasts pushing up against my chest. I could admit though, holding my Ruthie every day was something I was content with. She made me feel something I had never felt before in my young adult life.

She made me feel loved.

I could hear her heavy breathing against mine, and I smiled.

"She must have been waiting for me to make the first move," I thought, and slowly moved myself up against her. Ruthie finished unbuttoning her blouse, exposing more skin. I eyed her, waiting to see what was next. She shrugged.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she chuckled, her lips forming a genuine Ruthie smile. I loved her smile. It was so full of wonder and excitement. She pressed me close, close to her chest.

I closed my eyes and breathed in her perfume.