On her first morning back home, Marita woke bright and early despite the fact that she and Sean-Michael had just fallen back to sleep only 3 hours ago. After reading her bible and praying, Marita looked over at Sean, who was still dead to the world. She then got up and looked in on Sean-Michael and he was still sleeping. Marita went to the washroom to freshen up before she went downstairs to cook breakfast. She was thankful that Auntie had gone into town and had stocked her cupboards and icebox with food.
When Marita was done with the cooking, Sean still had not come down, so she tightened the belt to her robe and made herself a cup of tea. She picked up yesterday's journal and sat at the table to read old news and sip her tea. Twenty minutes later, Sean, clad only in his pajama bottoms, walked into the kitchen with Sean-Michael on his shoulder.
"I can't believe he woke you up" Marita laughed.
"He didn't. He was just laying there sucking his fist. I guess he was waiting for you to come pick him up" Sean laughed.
"Are you ready for breakfast or do you want to dress first?" Marita asked as she stood up.
"Let me get dressed first" he said as he handed her the baby.
"OK" she took the baby. "Good morning" she smiled down at the baby. "I thought you would be sleeping later since you stayed up longer than you usually do" Marita said, referring to their early morning time.
Sean heard Marita as he left the room and wondered what she was talking about. Sean-Michael went to sleep about the same time he usually goes to sleep. When his stomach started growling, Sean dismissed Marita's comment and rushed upstairs to get dressed. When he made it back to the kitchen, Marita had set the table and Sean-Michael was in his basket, which was sitting in two kitchen table chairs.
"Perfect timing" Marita said as she sat the last bowl of food on the table.
They sat down, gave thanks for their food, and ate while Sean-Michael lay peacefully, sucking his fist and looking around to see what he could see. This was a new room to him as was the room last night. As he looked around, he took in the new shapes and colors and wondered what it all meant. He heard sounds coming from the one called Pa, then he heard sounds from the one called Mama. He could identify them because they were always talking to him. He remembered the one called Pa talking to him a lot when he was balled up in that dark, warm place. He could not understand what they were saying but was soothed by their voices.
"You sure you don't need any help? I could ask Alice to send some of the staff to help."
"No Sean. Lexy's coming by later and I'm sure she'll help if I need it."
After they finished breakfast, they cleared the table. Sean then kissed Marita on the lips, then walked over to Sean-Michael kissed him on the nose before heading to the door.
"I probably won't be home for lunch and I may be a little late for dinner" he said over his shoulder. "I've got a committee meeting."
"OK honey. Have a good day" Marita said. "Sean-Michael" Marita said as she lifted him out of his basket. "I believe your father is going to worry me to no end about getting someone to help us around here" she said as she settled him in her arms. "I don't know why he thinks we can't take care of things while he's gone. We can handle taking care of this house and him, can't we?" she asked as she opened her robe to feed him.
Sean-Michael gurgled and smiled as if agreeing with his mother and Marita laughed. Once his food source was visible and close to his lips, Sean-Michael latched on and suckled until he was full. After Marita burped him, she changed him. Then Marita put him back in his basket and walked over to the sink to wash the morning dishes. When she started washing the dishes, Sean-Michael began to cry. Marita put down her dishrag and went to check on him.
"What's the matter?" Marita said as she bent over and rubbed the baby's cheek.
Nothing was the matter. Sean-Michael just wanted his mother's attention. He had gotten spoiled while he was at his grandpa's. There was always someone paying attention to him and he expected that to continue even though he was in this new place. Marita picked him up and kissed his nose then rubbed her nose against his.
"This is more like it" S-M M
Marita held him and entertained him until he fell asleep. She then put him in his basket and went and washed the dishes. When she finished the dishes, she looked out her kitchen window into her garden and winced. It needed immediate attention because it had been neglected the last 2 months. Marita heard her garden calling out to her and she decided to forget Auntie mandate to say inside for another 2 weeks. She gathered her garden tools and her baby and went out the back door. She set Sean-Michael's basket on the back porch and went to her garden. Marita stayed in the garden all morning, weeding and pruning. Sean-Michael woke around 11 and Marita brought him out to the garden with her. He was contend as long as Marita was in his line of vision and only started fussing when he was ready to eat. Marita then decided to call it quits for the day and took Sean-Michael inside and fed him.
When Marita sat down to have her lunch, there was a knock at the door. She went to answer it but Sean-Michael began to cry when she was out of his sight. Marita turned back and picked him up and went to the door.
"Hi Sean-Michael" Lexy said when Marita opened the door. "Hi Marita" she said as she reached for the baby.
"Hi Lexy" Marita said as he handed him over to her. "Hi Alice".
"Hi Marita" Alice smiled. "You-know-who sent me over."
"I don't know what I'm gonna do with him. He thinks I'm a invalid or something."
Alice laughed as they walked further inside the house.
"You know him. He can be a little overbearing sometimes."
"A little?" Marita said with a raised brow.
"Well maybe a lot" Alice laughed again.
"I'm eating lunch" Marita said as she led them into the kitchen. "Would you like some?"
"No thanks. We've had lunch already."
Marita sat back down and ate her lunch while she and Alice talked and Lexy played with Sean-Michael. After Marita finished eating, she assured Alice that everything was under control. Alice had some things she needed to do so she kissed Sean-Michael and reminded Lexy that Miss Forrester was coming at 3pm for her lessons before she left. Lexy's lessons had been changed to the afternoons for two weeks at the request of Miss Forrester.
Marita's first week back home went pretty much the same each day. She and Sean would discuss her needing help, Alice and Lexy would show up around lunchtime. Lexy would stay until she had to leave for her lessons. Marita would then spend the remainder of the afternoon doing things around the house, working in her garden and entertaining Sean-Michael. Sean would come home to find dinner and Marita waiting for him.
Her second week back home, Auntie came by with new orders for her increasingly popular fungus killer and fertilizer. She was also going to dictate to Marita all of her home remedies for aches and pains she had come up with over the years. Marita had suggested that they write them down and look into getting a book of home remedies published.
"Hey baby" Auntie said as she walked into the kitchen. As Lexy was leaving, Auntie was coming up the stairs and let herself in.
"Hi Auntie" Marita looked up from the beans she was snapping.
"How's that baby of yours?"
"He's fine" Marita smiled as she looked over at a sleeping Sean-Michael.
"He eatin' good?" Auntie asked as she bent over his basket to inspected him.
"Yes. ALL the time" Marita laughed. Sean-Michael never had a problem eating.
"You eatin' good?" Auntie said as she looked up from Sean-Michael.
"Yes ma'am" Marita answered.
Auntie sat down and helped Marita snap the beans and Marita told her what she had been doing her first week back home, with the exception of her garden work.
After they finished the beans, Marita carried them over to the sink to wash them.
"Auntie would you bring me those potatoes on the counter?" Marita said.
Auntie brought the potatoes to her at the sink.
"You been out this house haven't you?" Auntie said when she looked out the kitchen window and saw Marita's garden.
"Huh?" Marita pretended not to hear her and continued to wash her beans.
"You heard me girl" Auntie scolded. "Mo, you still hard headed! I told you not to be going outside. You gone mess round and catch cold, then who gonna take care of that baby."
"I'm fine Auntie" Marita insisted. "And I'm not going to catch cold."
"Y'all youngins think you know SO much. You might have your own baby now but you still a baby yourself" Auntie exaggerated. She still treated Marita like a child when it suited her.
Marita finished washing the beans and peeled and washed the potatoes while she listened to Aunt Eleanor fuss at her about being so hard headed. When Marita was ready to do Auntie's Remedies business, she had to remind Aunt Eleanor that they had business to take care of otherwise Auntie would continue to scold her for going outside.
They settled down at the table and logged in their new orders. They realized that they would have to expand in order produce larger quantities of ingredients for the fertilizer and insecticide. The demand was beginning to exceed the supply. After they finished the orders, they started on the home remedies.
Sean-Michael eventually woke for his feeding and their attention turned to him.
After Marita fed him, Auntie took over and burped him.
"Look at Auntie baby just a smiling" Aunt Eleanor said after she took Sean-Michael off her shoulder.
Sean-Michael grinned up at his great aunt. He really liked her because when she was around she would hold him and she was so soft to lie on. In between loving on Sean-Michael, Auntie continued her dictation to Marita. When they finished, Marita got up to start dinner and Auntie put Sean-Michael back in his basket. When she walked away, Sean-Michael began to cry.
"Y'all done spoiled this baby already" Auntie said, conveniently forgetting that she had just held and cuddled him for an hour.
"He's not spoiled" the mother in Marita defended.
"Yes he is" Aunt Eleanor said as she walked back over to him and picked him up. "What you crying for sugar? Mama got you spoiled already?"
Marita looked at her Aunt and shook her head. If he was spoiled, his spoiler was holding him now.
"Me? If he's spoiled, Auntie got him that way, not Mama" she said and turned back to preparing dinner.
Auntie ignored her niece and continued spoiling her nephew. When Aunt Eleanor finally left, she made Marita promise that she would not go outside for the next week. After that, Auntie said, she could go outside all she wanted. Marita gave her promise and kissed her Aunt goodbye.
Vivian had come by after Auntie left and she and Marita visited until Sean came home. Clay was with him and Marita invited them to stay for dinner. The brothers and their wives enjoyed a nice supper.
************************
Marita kept her promise to Auntie to stay inside for the next week. Lexy had brought over some things from Ned for Marita to work on and that helped fill her time of confinement. After her week was up, Marita jumped back into her regular routine. Sean-Michael was still waking up in the early morning hours and Marita would be up with him. She would go back to sleep as soon as she could and wake at her normal early hour to start her day.
Breakfast would be ready when Sean came downstairs and they would eat together before he left for the day. Marita would then do things around the house until Sean-Michael woke. She would feed him, dress him and they would head over to Ned's for the morning. When they got to Ned's, Lexy took over the care of Sean-Michael while Marita went to work.
The Friday of Marita's first week back in the free world, Auntie had gone into town to the warehouse to oversee the making of the pesticide and see if they had enough to fill all the orders they had gotten. She had brought sandwiches for lunch and since Sean was not going home for lunch, she shared hers with him.
"You enjoyin' that baby?" Auntie asked as they ate.
"Oh yeah" Sean smiled. "He's getting so big so fast."
"Yeah. Babies grow like weeds."
They spent the next few minutes talking about Sean-Michael before Auntie brought up Marita.
"You ain't been trying to mess with Mo have you?"
"What do you mean?" Sean asked.
"You been pulling on her night gown?"
Initially, Sean did not grasp her meaning but after a moment he did.
"As a matter of fact, I haven't but since you brought up the subject, when can I?" he asked. He did not know why, but he had no qualms about talking about his and Marita's sex life with Aunt Eleanor.
"You just leave her alone til she says she's ready."
"How long will that be?" Sean asked. Now that they were discussing it, Sean was acutely aware of that fact that it had been close to five months since he had touched Marita. A fact that he had chosen NOT to think about.
"I don't know. Women are different. Some can jump back in the saddle real quick, but others take longer to heal and get back to themselves."
"How long is long?" Sean said with a little terseness. The more he thought about his 5 months of involuntary abstinence, the more he was aware of his body's growing need to have Marita.
Auntie began to see Sean's edginess about the subject and wondered if she should have brought up the subject.
"Mo's young and strong and in good health so she'll probably get back to herself pretty quick."
"Well how quick is quick." The more Sean thought about it, the more he wanted Marita.
"Hum. Maybe another couple of weeks"
"A couple?! She had the baby almost two months ago."
"Some women take up to six months to start feeling right again."
"Six months! I can't wait that long!" SM
Sean looked at Auntie like she had lost her mind. Another four months without Marita?! Impossible! His body was crying out for her now!
Auntie laughed as she read his mind.
"You know, the Good Book talks about giving yourself to fasting and prayer" she teased, emphasizing the word 'fasting'.
"And it also talks about coming together again" he answered, emphasizing the word 'together'.
Auntie laughed aloud at Sean's sour expression. She continued to tease him about keeping his hands to himself until Marita was ready. When Aunt Eleanor finally got up and went back to work, Sean was ready to go home and see how ready Marita was. He would have gone home if he did not have so much to do. But since he did, he buried himself in his work and tried not to think about Marita.
Marita standing before him in a sheer nightgown. Marita slowly sliding the straps of her gown down her arms. Marita's naked body glistening before his eyes. Marita's breasts in his mouth. Marita's buttocks in his hands. Marita lying beneath him, welcoming him between her spread legs. Marita's warm, soft body coming together with him...
Sean had to get back to work otherwise he would be tearing out of the warehouse, pushing Ahab at neck breaking speed to get home to his wife.
****************
When Sean got home that evening, Marita and dinner were waiting as usual.
"Hi honey" Marita smiled as she greeted him at the door with the baby in her arms.
"Hey" Sean smiled and gave her a kiss. A kiss filled with passion and heat.
Sean-Michael started squirming because he was being squeezed between his parents. They broke away from each other and laughed. Sean bent down and kissed Sean-Michael before going to wash up for dinner. After they ate dinner, Sean-Michael ate. While Sean burped him, Marita got up to clean the dinner dishes. After Marita finished cleaning the kitchen, they decided to go outside and sit on the front steps because Sean-Michael was wide-awake.
Marita linked her arm around his and rested her chin on his shoulder while Sean held the baby. They looked at and played with their happy baby and enjoyed the night air and the star lit sky. Marita eventually dosed off and Sean had to wake her to go inside. When they came inside and went to their bedroom, Marita undressed while Sean put Sean-Michael to sleep. When Sean put him in his crib, Marita was already fast asleep. Sean then undressed and got in bed. He fell asleep thinking about his conversation with Aunt Eleanor earlier that day.
**********************
Sean had to ask. He woke from a dream with a hardness that needed some attention. He wondered if he was being selfish but quickly discarded that idea. It had been too long since he had touched Marita in the way that he liked most and the proof of that was the fact that his blood was running hot and he stood at attention because he had, during his dream, rubbed up against Marita's soft backside.
"Marita" he whispered in her ear as he grabbed her breast and gently squeezed it. "Marita baby" he said again when she did not even move. "Marita, wake up" he said as he bit on her earlobe and slid his hand down her stomach and tried to pry it between her legs.
After several minutes of trying to caress her awake, Sean realized that Marita was dead to the world. The week had been very tiring for her. She had kept up her normal routine in spite of the fact that Sean-Michael was still waking up in the twilight hours. Her days were filled with busyness and she did not get chances to rest, so at night she was falling into a deep sleep. The only thing that seemed to wake her was Sean-Michael's cry.
Sean became almost frustrated because Marita would not wake up and he was tempted to shake her. The ache in his groan began to intensify as his heart rate rose but he had no release for the energy that was building up inside him. Sean continued to try and wake Marita but to no avail. He grudgingly gave up after another several minutes of caressing, kissing, biting and whispering and turned to lie on his back. He put his hands behind his head, looked up at the ceiling and let out a frustrated breath. He had to stop thinking about making love to Marita otherwise he would assault her in her sleep. He turned and looked at the back of her head.
"Marita" he called out, hoping she would wake up.
While Marita and Sean-Michael slept the night away in peaceful bliss, Sean turned away from Marita and fell into a fitful sleep. A sleep full of frustration, full of unreleased passion, full of disappointment, full of sensual thoughts about his wife, full of yearning. He slept the night away in distributed misery.
*******************
"Good morning" Marita said brightly when Sean walked into the kitchen.
"Morning" he said in a grouchy tone. He was still agitated about last night.
"Got up on the wrong side of the bed?" Marita asked, noticing his tone.
"I guess so" he said as he sat down at the table.
"Anything I can do to make you feel better?" she asked as she walked over to him.
"Yeah. You can get yourself upstairs, lock yourself in the bedroom with me and let me have my way with you for as long as I want" SM
"Not at the moment" he said when Sean-Michael began making baby noises.
"You sure?" Marita asked as she rubbed his curls.
Sean had visions of throwing Marita on the table and doing everything imaginable under the sun to her but again his son brought him back to reality with his baby sounds.
"I'm sure" he said with regret in his voice. "What's for breakfast" he asked, trying to focus his mind on something else.
"Pancakes, bacon, strawberries and juice" Marita answered as she walked back over to the stove.
"What are you doing today?" Sean asked as he pickup up the Journal.
"I'm going over to your Pa's. Alice needs me to help her with some things. And I'll probably go into town to so some shopping. Oh, and I'm going over to Pa Pa's and check on him. And I'm supposed to help Vivian. She wants to make some curtains for the cabin."
"Marita, you sure you can handle all that AND the baby?" Sean said.
"Here we go again" MM
"Yes, Sean" Marita said. She really hoped he would not start complaining that she was doing too much.
In stead of complaining, Sean read his paper until breakfast was ready. He got up and help Marita set the table and they sat down, said grace and ate. After they finished eating, Sean kissed Marita and Sean-Michael goodbye and headed for the fields. Marita fed Sean-Michael then cleaned the kitchen. After she did some thing around the house, she went up to Ned's.
That evening when Sean came home, he told Marita that he was going into town with Ned and Clay to the Jockey Club. He told her he would only be gone for a little while and that he would hurry back home. Marita told him to enjoy himself and not to rush home because she had some reading she was going to catch up on.
Sean then bathed, ate and left. When he came home he was happy to see Sean-Michael asleep and Marita awake.
"Hey" he smiled as he walked into the bedroom. "I'm surprised you're still up."
"Hey" Marita smiled as she looked up from her book. "Did you enjoy yourself?" she asked as she sat up on the bed.
"Yeah we had a good time. I also got some more cigar orders" Sean said as he loosed his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt
"Oh, good" Marita got up from the bed and walked over to her dresser.
Sean followed her to the dresser and when she started taking off her earrings, he encircled her waist and put his lips next to her ear.
"It's been a long time" he said in a deep voice before he ran his tongue over her earlobe.
Marita felt a shiver as Sean began to kiss the side of her neck. It had been a long time, she thought. She put her hands on the arms that now had her in a gripped lock and emitted a sensual laugh.
"Umm" she moaned and closed her eyes.
"How you feeling?" Sean asked between kisses.
"Fine" Marita sighed.
"Feel up to making love to me?" Sean asked in a hopeful voice.
Marita let out a heavy breath in response and Sean took that to mean a 'yes'. He continued kissing her neck while he unbuttoned her dress and pushed it off her shoulders onto the floor. Without removing his lips from her neck, Sean turned Marita in the direction of the bed and started walking toward it. He was about to get what he had been craving for the last five months. When the got to the bed, Sean turned her around and his lips found hers as he took off his opened shirt. After he discarded his shirt, Sean put his hands on Marita's hips as their kiss deepened. His hands soon found their way to her derrière and squeezed it as he pulled her into his groan.
Marita rested her hands on his upper arms as she enjoyed their leisurely kiss. She felt as if she was floating away. Then she heard the bell ringing. Marita pulled away from the kiss.
"Who is that?" she asked in a dazed voice and she thought she heard Sean say an expletive under his breath. "Did you just swear?" she gave him a slight frown.
"It's Clay" Sean said, ignoring her question.
Ned had wanted to speak with Clay when they got back from the Jockey Club and Clay asked Sean if he could stop by on his way home. He needed to talk with Sean for a few minutes. Sean had told him it was no problem but now wished he told his brother he would see him tomorrow.
"I'll be right back" Sean said as he grabbed his shirt off the floor and put it on. He flew down the stairs to tell Clay that he would talk with him tomorrow. Now was not a good time.
It took Sean a little longer to get rid of Clay than he thought it would. But as soon as he shut the door in his brother's face, Sean took the stairs two at a time while he striped out of his shirt. He rushed into the bedroom only to find Marita under the cover sound asleep. He could not believe his eyes. Only minutes ago, she was ready to give him what he wanted, now she was asleep.
She had not been sleep long, so Sean figured he could wake her and pick up where they left off. He striped out of his pants and underpants and climbed in bed. He was happy to see that all Marita had on was her lightweight shift.
"Marita" he said, then kissed her shoulder and rubbed down her arm. "Marita" he said again and gave her a little shake.
"Huh?" she said, not opening her eyes.
"Wake up Marita" Sean begged.
"Sean, leave me alone" she said in her grouchy sleepy voice.
Sean knew from her tone that he would not be getting anything from her tonight. When Marita was sleepy, she could become a virtual sourpuss and did not like being bothered. Sean threw himself back on the bed and vowed he would kill his brother.
To Be Continued...........
When Marita was done with the cooking, Sean still had not come down, so she tightened the belt to her robe and made herself a cup of tea. She picked up yesterday's journal and sat at the table to read old news and sip her tea. Twenty minutes later, Sean, clad only in his pajama bottoms, walked into the kitchen with Sean-Michael on his shoulder.
"I can't believe he woke you up" Marita laughed.
"He didn't. He was just laying there sucking his fist. I guess he was waiting for you to come pick him up" Sean laughed.
"Are you ready for breakfast or do you want to dress first?" Marita asked as she stood up.
"Let me get dressed first" he said as he handed her the baby.
"OK" she took the baby. "Good morning" she smiled down at the baby. "I thought you would be sleeping later since you stayed up longer than you usually do" Marita said, referring to their early morning time.
Sean heard Marita as he left the room and wondered what she was talking about. Sean-Michael went to sleep about the same time he usually goes to sleep. When his stomach started growling, Sean dismissed Marita's comment and rushed upstairs to get dressed. When he made it back to the kitchen, Marita had set the table and Sean-Michael was in his basket, which was sitting in two kitchen table chairs.
"Perfect timing" Marita said as she sat the last bowl of food on the table.
They sat down, gave thanks for their food, and ate while Sean-Michael lay peacefully, sucking his fist and looking around to see what he could see. This was a new room to him as was the room last night. As he looked around, he took in the new shapes and colors and wondered what it all meant. He heard sounds coming from the one called Pa, then he heard sounds from the one called Mama. He could identify them because they were always talking to him. He remembered the one called Pa talking to him a lot when he was balled up in that dark, warm place. He could not understand what they were saying but was soothed by their voices.
"You sure you don't need any help? I could ask Alice to send some of the staff to help."
"No Sean. Lexy's coming by later and I'm sure she'll help if I need it."
After they finished breakfast, they cleared the table. Sean then kissed Marita on the lips, then walked over to Sean-Michael kissed him on the nose before heading to the door.
"I probably won't be home for lunch and I may be a little late for dinner" he said over his shoulder. "I've got a committee meeting."
"OK honey. Have a good day" Marita said. "Sean-Michael" Marita said as she lifted him out of his basket. "I believe your father is going to worry me to no end about getting someone to help us around here" she said as she settled him in her arms. "I don't know why he thinks we can't take care of things while he's gone. We can handle taking care of this house and him, can't we?" she asked as she opened her robe to feed him.
Sean-Michael gurgled and smiled as if agreeing with his mother and Marita laughed. Once his food source was visible and close to his lips, Sean-Michael latched on and suckled until he was full. After Marita burped him, she changed him. Then Marita put him back in his basket and walked over to the sink to wash the morning dishes. When she started washing the dishes, Sean-Michael began to cry. Marita put down her dishrag and went to check on him.
"What's the matter?" Marita said as she bent over and rubbed the baby's cheek.
Nothing was the matter. Sean-Michael just wanted his mother's attention. He had gotten spoiled while he was at his grandpa's. There was always someone paying attention to him and he expected that to continue even though he was in this new place. Marita picked him up and kissed his nose then rubbed her nose against his.
"This is more like it" S-M M
Marita held him and entertained him until he fell asleep. She then put him in his basket and went and washed the dishes. When she finished the dishes, she looked out her kitchen window into her garden and winced. It needed immediate attention because it had been neglected the last 2 months. Marita heard her garden calling out to her and she decided to forget Auntie mandate to say inside for another 2 weeks. She gathered her garden tools and her baby and went out the back door. She set Sean-Michael's basket on the back porch and went to her garden. Marita stayed in the garden all morning, weeding and pruning. Sean-Michael woke around 11 and Marita brought him out to the garden with her. He was contend as long as Marita was in his line of vision and only started fussing when he was ready to eat. Marita then decided to call it quits for the day and took Sean-Michael inside and fed him.
When Marita sat down to have her lunch, there was a knock at the door. She went to answer it but Sean-Michael began to cry when she was out of his sight. Marita turned back and picked him up and went to the door.
"Hi Sean-Michael" Lexy said when Marita opened the door. "Hi Marita" she said as she reached for the baby.
"Hi Lexy" Marita said as he handed him over to her. "Hi Alice".
"Hi Marita" Alice smiled. "You-know-who sent me over."
"I don't know what I'm gonna do with him. He thinks I'm a invalid or something."
Alice laughed as they walked further inside the house.
"You know him. He can be a little overbearing sometimes."
"A little?" Marita said with a raised brow.
"Well maybe a lot" Alice laughed again.
"I'm eating lunch" Marita said as she led them into the kitchen. "Would you like some?"
"No thanks. We've had lunch already."
Marita sat back down and ate her lunch while she and Alice talked and Lexy played with Sean-Michael. After Marita finished eating, she assured Alice that everything was under control. Alice had some things she needed to do so she kissed Sean-Michael and reminded Lexy that Miss Forrester was coming at 3pm for her lessons before she left. Lexy's lessons had been changed to the afternoons for two weeks at the request of Miss Forrester.
Marita's first week back home went pretty much the same each day. She and Sean would discuss her needing help, Alice and Lexy would show up around lunchtime. Lexy would stay until she had to leave for her lessons. Marita would then spend the remainder of the afternoon doing things around the house, working in her garden and entertaining Sean-Michael. Sean would come home to find dinner and Marita waiting for him.
Her second week back home, Auntie came by with new orders for her increasingly popular fungus killer and fertilizer. She was also going to dictate to Marita all of her home remedies for aches and pains she had come up with over the years. Marita had suggested that they write them down and look into getting a book of home remedies published.
"Hey baby" Auntie said as she walked into the kitchen. As Lexy was leaving, Auntie was coming up the stairs and let herself in.
"Hi Auntie" Marita looked up from the beans she was snapping.
"How's that baby of yours?"
"He's fine" Marita smiled as she looked over at a sleeping Sean-Michael.
"He eatin' good?" Auntie asked as she bent over his basket to inspected him.
"Yes. ALL the time" Marita laughed. Sean-Michael never had a problem eating.
"You eatin' good?" Auntie said as she looked up from Sean-Michael.
"Yes ma'am" Marita answered.
Auntie sat down and helped Marita snap the beans and Marita told her what she had been doing her first week back home, with the exception of her garden work.
After they finished the beans, Marita carried them over to the sink to wash them.
"Auntie would you bring me those potatoes on the counter?" Marita said.
Auntie brought the potatoes to her at the sink.
"You been out this house haven't you?" Auntie said when she looked out the kitchen window and saw Marita's garden.
"Huh?" Marita pretended not to hear her and continued to wash her beans.
"You heard me girl" Auntie scolded. "Mo, you still hard headed! I told you not to be going outside. You gone mess round and catch cold, then who gonna take care of that baby."
"I'm fine Auntie" Marita insisted. "And I'm not going to catch cold."
"Y'all youngins think you know SO much. You might have your own baby now but you still a baby yourself" Auntie exaggerated. She still treated Marita like a child when it suited her.
Marita finished washing the beans and peeled and washed the potatoes while she listened to Aunt Eleanor fuss at her about being so hard headed. When Marita was ready to do Auntie's Remedies business, she had to remind Aunt Eleanor that they had business to take care of otherwise Auntie would continue to scold her for going outside.
They settled down at the table and logged in their new orders. They realized that they would have to expand in order produce larger quantities of ingredients for the fertilizer and insecticide. The demand was beginning to exceed the supply. After they finished the orders, they started on the home remedies.
Sean-Michael eventually woke for his feeding and their attention turned to him.
After Marita fed him, Auntie took over and burped him.
"Look at Auntie baby just a smiling" Aunt Eleanor said after she took Sean-Michael off her shoulder.
Sean-Michael grinned up at his great aunt. He really liked her because when she was around she would hold him and she was so soft to lie on. In between loving on Sean-Michael, Auntie continued her dictation to Marita. When they finished, Marita got up to start dinner and Auntie put Sean-Michael back in his basket. When she walked away, Sean-Michael began to cry.
"Y'all done spoiled this baby already" Auntie said, conveniently forgetting that she had just held and cuddled him for an hour.
"He's not spoiled" the mother in Marita defended.
"Yes he is" Aunt Eleanor said as she walked back over to him and picked him up. "What you crying for sugar? Mama got you spoiled already?"
Marita looked at her Aunt and shook her head. If he was spoiled, his spoiler was holding him now.
"Me? If he's spoiled, Auntie got him that way, not Mama" she said and turned back to preparing dinner.
Auntie ignored her niece and continued spoiling her nephew. When Aunt Eleanor finally left, she made Marita promise that she would not go outside for the next week. After that, Auntie said, she could go outside all she wanted. Marita gave her promise and kissed her Aunt goodbye.
Vivian had come by after Auntie left and she and Marita visited until Sean came home. Clay was with him and Marita invited them to stay for dinner. The brothers and their wives enjoyed a nice supper.
************************
Marita kept her promise to Auntie to stay inside for the next week. Lexy had brought over some things from Ned for Marita to work on and that helped fill her time of confinement. After her week was up, Marita jumped back into her regular routine. Sean-Michael was still waking up in the early morning hours and Marita would be up with him. She would go back to sleep as soon as she could and wake at her normal early hour to start her day.
Breakfast would be ready when Sean came downstairs and they would eat together before he left for the day. Marita would then do things around the house until Sean-Michael woke. She would feed him, dress him and they would head over to Ned's for the morning. When they got to Ned's, Lexy took over the care of Sean-Michael while Marita went to work.
The Friday of Marita's first week back in the free world, Auntie had gone into town to the warehouse to oversee the making of the pesticide and see if they had enough to fill all the orders they had gotten. She had brought sandwiches for lunch and since Sean was not going home for lunch, she shared hers with him.
"You enjoyin' that baby?" Auntie asked as they ate.
"Oh yeah" Sean smiled. "He's getting so big so fast."
"Yeah. Babies grow like weeds."
They spent the next few minutes talking about Sean-Michael before Auntie brought up Marita.
"You ain't been trying to mess with Mo have you?"
"What do you mean?" Sean asked.
"You been pulling on her night gown?"
Initially, Sean did not grasp her meaning but after a moment he did.
"As a matter of fact, I haven't but since you brought up the subject, when can I?" he asked. He did not know why, but he had no qualms about talking about his and Marita's sex life with Aunt Eleanor.
"You just leave her alone til she says she's ready."
"How long will that be?" Sean asked. Now that they were discussing it, Sean was acutely aware of that fact that it had been close to five months since he had touched Marita. A fact that he had chosen NOT to think about.
"I don't know. Women are different. Some can jump back in the saddle real quick, but others take longer to heal and get back to themselves."
"How long is long?" Sean said with a little terseness. The more he thought about his 5 months of involuntary abstinence, the more he was aware of his body's growing need to have Marita.
Auntie began to see Sean's edginess about the subject and wondered if she should have brought up the subject.
"Mo's young and strong and in good health so she'll probably get back to herself pretty quick."
"Well how quick is quick." The more Sean thought about it, the more he wanted Marita.
"Hum. Maybe another couple of weeks"
"A couple?! She had the baby almost two months ago."
"Some women take up to six months to start feeling right again."
"Six months! I can't wait that long!" SM
Sean looked at Auntie like she had lost her mind. Another four months without Marita?! Impossible! His body was crying out for her now!
Auntie laughed as she read his mind.
"You know, the Good Book talks about giving yourself to fasting and prayer" she teased, emphasizing the word 'fasting'.
"And it also talks about coming together again" he answered, emphasizing the word 'together'.
Auntie laughed aloud at Sean's sour expression. She continued to tease him about keeping his hands to himself until Marita was ready. When Aunt Eleanor finally got up and went back to work, Sean was ready to go home and see how ready Marita was. He would have gone home if he did not have so much to do. But since he did, he buried himself in his work and tried not to think about Marita.
Marita standing before him in a sheer nightgown. Marita slowly sliding the straps of her gown down her arms. Marita's naked body glistening before his eyes. Marita's breasts in his mouth. Marita's buttocks in his hands. Marita lying beneath him, welcoming him between her spread legs. Marita's warm, soft body coming together with him...
Sean had to get back to work otherwise he would be tearing out of the warehouse, pushing Ahab at neck breaking speed to get home to his wife.
****************
When Sean got home that evening, Marita and dinner were waiting as usual.
"Hi honey" Marita smiled as she greeted him at the door with the baby in her arms.
"Hey" Sean smiled and gave her a kiss. A kiss filled with passion and heat.
Sean-Michael started squirming because he was being squeezed between his parents. They broke away from each other and laughed. Sean bent down and kissed Sean-Michael before going to wash up for dinner. After they ate dinner, Sean-Michael ate. While Sean burped him, Marita got up to clean the dinner dishes. After Marita finished cleaning the kitchen, they decided to go outside and sit on the front steps because Sean-Michael was wide-awake.
Marita linked her arm around his and rested her chin on his shoulder while Sean held the baby. They looked at and played with their happy baby and enjoyed the night air and the star lit sky. Marita eventually dosed off and Sean had to wake her to go inside. When they came inside and went to their bedroom, Marita undressed while Sean put Sean-Michael to sleep. When Sean put him in his crib, Marita was already fast asleep. Sean then undressed and got in bed. He fell asleep thinking about his conversation with Aunt Eleanor earlier that day.
**********************
Sean had to ask. He woke from a dream with a hardness that needed some attention. He wondered if he was being selfish but quickly discarded that idea. It had been too long since he had touched Marita in the way that he liked most and the proof of that was the fact that his blood was running hot and he stood at attention because he had, during his dream, rubbed up against Marita's soft backside.
"Marita" he whispered in her ear as he grabbed her breast and gently squeezed it. "Marita baby" he said again when she did not even move. "Marita, wake up" he said as he bit on her earlobe and slid his hand down her stomach and tried to pry it between her legs.
After several minutes of trying to caress her awake, Sean realized that Marita was dead to the world. The week had been very tiring for her. She had kept up her normal routine in spite of the fact that Sean-Michael was still waking up in the twilight hours. Her days were filled with busyness and she did not get chances to rest, so at night she was falling into a deep sleep. The only thing that seemed to wake her was Sean-Michael's cry.
Sean became almost frustrated because Marita would not wake up and he was tempted to shake her. The ache in his groan began to intensify as his heart rate rose but he had no release for the energy that was building up inside him. Sean continued to try and wake Marita but to no avail. He grudgingly gave up after another several minutes of caressing, kissing, biting and whispering and turned to lie on his back. He put his hands behind his head, looked up at the ceiling and let out a frustrated breath. He had to stop thinking about making love to Marita otherwise he would assault her in her sleep. He turned and looked at the back of her head.
"Marita" he called out, hoping she would wake up.
While Marita and Sean-Michael slept the night away in peaceful bliss, Sean turned away from Marita and fell into a fitful sleep. A sleep full of frustration, full of unreleased passion, full of disappointment, full of sensual thoughts about his wife, full of yearning. He slept the night away in distributed misery.
*******************
"Good morning" Marita said brightly when Sean walked into the kitchen.
"Morning" he said in a grouchy tone. He was still agitated about last night.
"Got up on the wrong side of the bed?" Marita asked, noticing his tone.
"I guess so" he said as he sat down at the table.
"Anything I can do to make you feel better?" she asked as she walked over to him.
"Yeah. You can get yourself upstairs, lock yourself in the bedroom with me and let me have my way with you for as long as I want" SM
"Not at the moment" he said when Sean-Michael began making baby noises.
"You sure?" Marita asked as she rubbed his curls.
Sean had visions of throwing Marita on the table and doing everything imaginable under the sun to her but again his son brought him back to reality with his baby sounds.
"I'm sure" he said with regret in his voice. "What's for breakfast" he asked, trying to focus his mind on something else.
"Pancakes, bacon, strawberries and juice" Marita answered as she walked back over to the stove.
"What are you doing today?" Sean asked as he pickup up the Journal.
"I'm going over to your Pa's. Alice needs me to help her with some things. And I'll probably go into town to so some shopping. Oh, and I'm going over to Pa Pa's and check on him. And I'm supposed to help Vivian. She wants to make some curtains for the cabin."
"Marita, you sure you can handle all that AND the baby?" Sean said.
"Here we go again" MM
"Yes, Sean" Marita said. She really hoped he would not start complaining that she was doing too much.
In stead of complaining, Sean read his paper until breakfast was ready. He got up and help Marita set the table and they sat down, said grace and ate. After they finished eating, Sean kissed Marita and Sean-Michael goodbye and headed for the fields. Marita fed Sean-Michael then cleaned the kitchen. After she did some thing around the house, she went up to Ned's.
That evening when Sean came home, he told Marita that he was going into town with Ned and Clay to the Jockey Club. He told her he would only be gone for a little while and that he would hurry back home. Marita told him to enjoy himself and not to rush home because she had some reading she was going to catch up on.
Sean then bathed, ate and left. When he came home he was happy to see Sean-Michael asleep and Marita awake.
"Hey" he smiled as he walked into the bedroom. "I'm surprised you're still up."
"Hey" Marita smiled as she looked up from her book. "Did you enjoy yourself?" she asked as she sat up on the bed.
"Yeah we had a good time. I also got some more cigar orders" Sean said as he loosed his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt
"Oh, good" Marita got up from the bed and walked over to her dresser.
Sean followed her to the dresser and when she started taking off her earrings, he encircled her waist and put his lips next to her ear.
"It's been a long time" he said in a deep voice before he ran his tongue over her earlobe.
Marita felt a shiver as Sean began to kiss the side of her neck. It had been a long time, she thought. She put her hands on the arms that now had her in a gripped lock and emitted a sensual laugh.
"Umm" she moaned and closed her eyes.
"How you feeling?" Sean asked between kisses.
"Fine" Marita sighed.
"Feel up to making love to me?" Sean asked in a hopeful voice.
Marita let out a heavy breath in response and Sean took that to mean a 'yes'. He continued kissing her neck while he unbuttoned her dress and pushed it off her shoulders onto the floor. Without removing his lips from her neck, Sean turned Marita in the direction of the bed and started walking toward it. He was about to get what he had been craving for the last five months. When the got to the bed, Sean turned her around and his lips found hers as he took off his opened shirt. After he discarded his shirt, Sean put his hands on Marita's hips as their kiss deepened. His hands soon found their way to her derrière and squeezed it as he pulled her into his groan.
Marita rested her hands on his upper arms as she enjoyed their leisurely kiss. She felt as if she was floating away. Then she heard the bell ringing. Marita pulled away from the kiss.
"Who is that?" she asked in a dazed voice and she thought she heard Sean say an expletive under his breath. "Did you just swear?" she gave him a slight frown.
"It's Clay" Sean said, ignoring her question.
Ned had wanted to speak with Clay when they got back from the Jockey Club and Clay asked Sean if he could stop by on his way home. He needed to talk with Sean for a few minutes. Sean had told him it was no problem but now wished he told his brother he would see him tomorrow.
"I'll be right back" Sean said as he grabbed his shirt off the floor and put it on. He flew down the stairs to tell Clay that he would talk with him tomorrow. Now was not a good time.
It took Sean a little longer to get rid of Clay than he thought it would. But as soon as he shut the door in his brother's face, Sean took the stairs two at a time while he striped out of his shirt. He rushed into the bedroom only to find Marita under the cover sound asleep. He could not believe his eyes. Only minutes ago, she was ready to give him what he wanted, now she was asleep.
She had not been sleep long, so Sean figured he could wake her and pick up where they left off. He striped out of his pants and underpants and climbed in bed. He was happy to see that all Marita had on was her lightweight shift.
"Marita" he said, then kissed her shoulder and rubbed down her arm. "Marita" he said again and gave her a little shake.
"Huh?" she said, not opening her eyes.
"Wake up Marita" Sean begged.
"Sean, leave me alone" she said in her grouchy sleepy voice.
Sean knew from her tone that he would not be getting anything from her tonight. When Marita was sleepy, she could become a virtual sourpuss and did not like being bothered. Sean threw himself back on the bed and vowed he would kill his brother.
To Be Continued...........
