Caroline & The Blue Lagoon
Chapter 6
Rated 'R' for sexual content
By:
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--"Caroline!" Richard called to her excitedly… "Look what I got!"
She peeked out of the shelter to see Richard standing there… with a bald bird of some kind in his hand.
"What is it?"
"A turkey!"
"Really?" she seemed to perk up a bit, and she walked out of the shelter to get a better look…
"Yep! You said you wanted to do something special. Don't people usually eat turkey for Thanksgiving?"
"Yeah, they do." She smiled… "You plucked it and everything!"
"Yep! I just wish I could give you all the other things you talked about. Mashed potatoes, candied yams, stuffing…"
"It's ok." she assured him, kissing his lips softly… "We should get it started right away. It takes a while to cook…"
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--"Before we eat…" Caroline started… "We should take a sec and say what we are thankful for."
Richard rolled his eyes but smiled… "You go first."
"Ok…" she agreed… "I'm thankful for… and this is in no particular order… this turkey, this shelter, the clothes on our backs… and I am especially thankful for you. Without you I would have died on this island, I believe that sincerely, but you instinctively knew what to do, and you took care of me. And you continue to take care of me. I'm thankful that we're together. You know, together. I love how you make me feel… and I love YOU."
He reached for her and kissed her, with all the love and respect he had for her, then he backed away and cleared his throat…
"I could never come close to putting it that eloquently, but I feel the same. It's funny, you take so much for granted in life… food, shelter, happiness, love. You always think it'll be, I don't know, easy… in a way. But when it's not easy, like with what we've had to do here to survive… it helps you appreciate it more I think. Does that make sense?"
She nodded, tears splashing down her cheeks… "Yes."
"What I'm trying to say here is… even though it's been hard for us here, you being here with me has made it bearable. Not just bearable, but actually pleasurable. This isn't the life anyone dreams about, or wishes for… but I am grateful for it. Because it includes you."
Tears flowed freely, touched by his words, and she whispered his name as she tried in vain to wipe the wet from her face…
"Caroline, I know this may seem… well… odd, but, will you marry me?"
"Marry you? How? When?" What he was suggesting didn't make sense…
"Now." He replied… "Like this…" He took her hand and produced a small ring that he carved out of soap stone… "Caroline, I love you with all my heart and soul. I promise to care for you, love you, cherish you, all the days of my life, if you want me…"
She nodded, her power of speech temporarily gone… "I do…" she finally squeaked out.
He smiled and placed the ring on her finger, then handed her another ring, holding up his left hand…
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, trying to regain her voice… "Richard, I love you so much. So much it hurts. More than I have ever loved another human being. More than I ever thought possible. I promise to take care of you, and love you, and honor you, all the days of my life. If you want me…" Her voice was shaky, and he touched her face with tender understanding…
"I do."
She slipped the ring on his finger and he pulled her to him, kissing her, a small sob escaping her throat, only to be absorbed by their kiss. He pulled back, wiping the tears from her face…
"I now pronounce us husband and wife." He whispered, kissing her again… "Now, let's eat this wonderful turkey!"
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--Later that night they made love, touching and kissing, arousing and loving with all the desire and passion that 2 people could share, getting lost in each other.
"I love the way you touch me." Caroline whispered, breathless…
He smiled as he ran his hand along her body… "I love touching you."
"How many lovers have you had?"
"Wha--?? Caroline, you can't be…"
"What?"
"Are you seriously asking me?"
"Yeah. I mean, it doesn't matter… I was just curious…"
"Serious relationships or partners total?"
She thought about it for a second, wrinkling her brow… "Both."
"One serious relationship, besides you. Three partners…"
"That's it?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"I don't know. I just… thought… it would've been a lot more…"
"Why would you think that?"
"You seem so…"
"So…???"
"Skilled."
Richard laughed and pulled her tight… "Well, thank you, but I'm really not 'skilled'. It's like… sincere amore…"
"What's sincere amore?"
"It's a love you never have to question. Like, your soul mate. When you find your soul mate, the love is perfect. Does that make any sense?"
"Perfect sense."
"What about you? How many partners have you had? I know about Del…"
"Promise it won't make a difference?"
"I promise."
"Not counting you… 2 serious relationships, 6 partners." She felt herself hold her breath till he responded. It wasn't an excessive amount of partners, but it was more than he'd had.
He sensed her uneasiness and kissed her forehead… "One of those is Del I'm assuming…"
"Yes." He remained silent, and she wondered what he was thinking… "You're not mad, are you?"
"Why would I be mad?"
"I don't know. Some guys would be mad that the woman had more partners…"
"Yeah, well, I'm not like other guys… or have you noticed?" he asked playfully. He waited for her to smile, and when she did, he leaned in and kissed her, soft and reassuring at first, then with more passion. He slowly guided her back to the blanket, wrapping it and his arms around her… "I love you, Caroline."
"I love you too."
"I want you to know… this marriage is real. It doesn't matter that there was no Minister or Justice of the Peace. Or a piece of paper from City Hall. If we ever get rescued… regardless to what anyone says… we ARE married."
"You still think we might get rescued?"
"I don't know. But if we do… I will still want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too."
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--With Christmas only 3 days away, Richard was frantic to finish her gift. It had been hard to make without her knowledge, keeping it a secret, but he was fairly certain she didn't know anything about it. He had to steal time while out hunting to work on it, being careful not to be gone too long… so as not to worry her. Now, he was down to the wire, and he wanted it finished in time… he wanted to surprise her. He pushed himself to finish, taking a little longer than he should have, and Caroline was getting worried. By the time he got back to the shelter, she was near panicking…
"What happened? What took you so long?" She nearly shouted at him, her frightened tone obvious…
"I'm sorry. All the little critters were hiding today…" he lied… "Had to settle for fish again."
A heavy sigh escaped her and she kissed his lips softly… "Fish is fine. Sorry I snapped…"
"It's ok Caroline." He handed her the fish… "I'm sorry I worried you… again…" He kneeled down to start the fire, and Caroline looked at him for a moment, holding the fish, reading too much into his comment…
"Do you get annoyed when I worry?"
He didn't answer. Truth was, he did get a bit annoyed by her constant worrying. Well, not so much annoyed as frustrated. He hated seeing her so upset, and he was really trying to make things as easy on her as possible. Couldn't she see how much he tried?
"You do, don't you?"
"No. Not exactly…"
"Then what? Exactly…"
He didn't want to start this. He knew this had the potential of leading into a fight. He didn't want to fight. She had been on edge lately… volatile for a lack of better words. He assumed it was because of the stress of the situation… that living like this had started to get to her.
"I don't want to do this, Caroline…"
"Do what? Talk to me?"
"No, fight with you. I don't want to fight with you."
She burst into tears… "You don't love me anymore!"
He slumped slightly and rolled his eyes… "Caroline, that is NOT true…"
"It IS true! You're annoyed with me!"
"I'm not annoyed with you…" he reached to hold her, but she backed away…
"Don't touch me! It hurts too much!"
He looked at her, amazed and concerned… "What hurts?"
"I love you too much!" She started to walk away from him, but he followed her…
"Caroline! Don't do this! Talk to me!"
"Oh, now you WANT to talk to me?!" Now she seemed angry, and the mood swing was obvious.
He just looked at her for a quick moment, then held his hand's up, as if showing he meant her no harm. His voice was soft and gentle, and he kneeled in the sand in front of her… "Yes, Caroline, I want to talk to you. Please tell me what's wrong."
Her angry expression fell from her face, only to be replaced by anguish… "I can't!"
She was scaring him, and more than anything he wanted to pull her into his arms… "Yes, you can. You're my wife. You can tell me anything…"
She searched his eyes for a moment, desperately wanting to tell him, but scared to. Finally, she dropped to her knees and started sobbing. Richard grabbed her and held her tight…
"My God, Caroline… please…" he was begging her… "Please tell me what's wrong…"
She grabbed at him, desperate for him to make it right. To take away her pain, and dread, and fear…
"Please Caroline…" he pleaded again…
"Richard… I'm pregnant."