We follow our short but powerful tradition and take a relaxing bubble bath together in the suites sunken tub. Afterward, with stomachs growling, donning the luxurious hotel robes, I order room service for dinner. Vic decides to be the appetizer and sits on my lap as we take in each other filling one another with kisses.

Suddenly, Vic stops and smacks her head with her open palm, "Oh fuck me."

I look at her inquisitively.

"Walt, fuck. I fucked up." She moves off my lap and grabs her overnight bag rummaging through it.

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot my birth control pills at home. Shit!"

"It's ok"

"No, it's not. I'm sorry. Really, I am."

I walk over to her and put my hand on her back. "Vic, really it's ok."

"I feel so stupid, Walt."

"Don't, it's no big deal."

"You ready for a break, huh? We shouldn't overdo it anyway. I know you're ribs are still sore."

"I thought we did pretty good last night." I say coyly.

Vic turns and buries her face in my neck, I can feel the heat rise in her face, as she sweetly kisses the crease in my neck.

"Who says we can't make love?" I earnestly ask.

Vic pulls back in my arms, "Ah, did … you … not…hear…me." She says slowly.

I can't help but laugh, "Yeah, I heard you."

"Ok, I'm just gonna say it Walt. I hate condoms and to prevent widespread panic in this room, yes, I have used them in the past because I'm not stupid but I hate them."

"We talked about this remember?"

"Yes, I remember." Surprisingly she asks, "You're not mad?"

"No, Vic. Why would I be mad?" I add, "and I'm not disappointed either."

Room service knocks and we enjoy our dinner by candlelight which keeps the subject in the air. It is romantic but the underlying tension stays throughout our meal. After eating, I am exhausted, the euphoria of the day, the adrenaline of the quasi-alumni reunion and the natural tiredness of travel has all kicked in, at once.

We go through our bedtime routine of brushing teeth and Vic brushes her hair. After a couple of minutes, she comes out of the bathroom, hands me her brush, and sits on the corner of the bed.

"Would you like to?"

I begin brushing her hair and think of Martha. There were many nights by the fire where I would brush her long hair before bed. She would tease that it was her equivalent of me shaving, just one of those intimate differences to celebrate and cherish. My love for Martha has shifted to a separate place in my heart. She still occupies space there but Vic has certainly claimed her fair portion. My love for Vic is in the here and now.

Trying to dissolve the tension over dinner, "You were quiet during dinner?"

"Was I?"

"A little"

"I'm just tired from today. It hit me like a ton of bricks."

"Me, too"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I feel 100 years old."

"Ha, well I'm 99"

Despite the lightness, it's still there.

"You know, I know, right?"

"Know what?"

"That something is on your mind."

"Ah, omniscient Walt is back."

"Oh, he never goes away." I gently kiss her exposed shoulder.

Just to let her know it's ok.

"I was thinking that I don't want you to think that I have ulterior motives for forgetting my birth control pills. There it is. That's what's on my mind."

"I don't think that, Vic."

"Well, you trust me to take care of our birth control and I feel like I failed you."

"You didn't fail me."

"All I kept thinking during dinner is what if I didn't remember until we got back home. I mean how many chances would we have taken and not known?"

"That didn't happen, though."

"Thank, God."

"Vic, what would happen if it did though? Birth control is fairly effective but we both know it's not 100% foolproof. Haven't you thought about it?"

"No, I haven't because it worked during my entire marriage and I have no reason to think it wouldn't work with you."

"Fair enough but a little naïve at the same time."

"You've thought about it?"

"Sure, not a lot, but yes I thought about it before we made our trip to Dallas."

"And"

"You have such a way of disarming me."

I stroke her face with the back of my hand and open up completely, "Earlier you asked me why I didn't sleep with a lot of girls in college and the long of it is that I was raised to believe you save yourself for someone you love and ideally you wait until you are married. I believe that Vic and while circumstances don't always lend themselves to marriage I value myself and my body so the idea of me sleeping around was not something I wanted for myself. I haven't slept with a lot of women, you know that, but it's not something I'm ashamed of because I loved all of them except one and it was the only time I strayed from my values. It was one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made and one I will never make again."

"You mean Lizzie?"

I nod my head and continue, "That's no surprise to you but before we made love Vic I already accepted the consequences in my heart and in my head. If one of those consequences were you, becoming pregnant than that would be ok because if we made a baby it would be out of love not casual meaningless sex. So, you forgetting your pills, does not upset me because you could get pregnant either way."

I smile at her, taking her hands in mine, "I probably don't say it enough but I love you and love is not mean it's kind." She smiles back at me and searches my eyes for truth; she can't help herself, "Walt, I don't know what to say. You continually amaze me."

"Vic, I will always trust you, about everything. I don't want you worrying about it or us."

Vic leans in and tenderly kisses my lips and says, "there are many ways we make love and not all of them include the possibility of getting pregnant." Our embrace tightens and I add, "Like right now." Our faces are flush and her arms hold me tightly.

We lay down in bed and Vic challenges my memory asking if I remember any play call cadences from college. I do, which doesn't surprise her and I end up teaching her play calls and the proper hand technique on the line of scrimmage. We fall asleep in each other's arms. I am happy and I am in love.