AUTHOR'S NOTES:
WOW, Have I been having a rough time with this one! I am finally just going to go ahead and post what was the original ending to this story back when I started it. All the delay you've had to endure has been because I tried to change the story in the middle of things, and I just couldn't get inspired this time. Often changes happen spontaneously to my writing, but I have now confirmed that I CANNOT stonewall the muse. She will have her way no matter what!
Anyway, as I said I tried to change things in mid-process, so part of that change was that I tacked on some of what was to be in this chapter onto the end of the last one to make room for new material, which is not going to appear after all. The result is that this chapter is extremely short. I will probably re-post the whole thing soon with the original chapter divisions in place, but for now I don't want to make you wait anymore.
I did start the new section, and it MIGHT turn into a companion piece/follow-up if I can ever get my muse to cooperate. MAYBE. As one good friend knows, this was meant all along to be a portrayal of a fight and it's resolution. There is a twist, so without any further ado I give you...
Chapter 5: "Talk of Curves and Making Up"
Hours had passed and the moon's gentle radiance poured into the room creating glowing patches and opalescent pools on the tan skin of his chest, little puddles of moonlight collected in the sheets. Kuki was absently tracing little paths of admiration over Wally's muscled physique with her fingers. Curled up into his side, she lay with one leg tangled with his and listened to his breathing. Longing – a deep, desperate ache suddenly filled her heart as she looked at him. A longing she could not reconcile because it should have been sated now of all times, with him so close, arms enveloping her, her head on his shoulder. She realized that she wanted more, though unable to entirely define that word. More of him, more of them, more of her life in this house, this life, this love, more... Like an addict, she would never get enough and so she gazed at him in wonder at his beauty in the light of the summer moon.
Softly she smiled at the thought of what he would think of all the 'girly' things swirling around in her head about him right now. He'd probably deny that he was the most beautiful thing in existence, insisting that she should only use a word like 'handsome' to refer to him. Handsome? By all means. But that word just did not have the scope, the depth that she needed. Wally, in spite himself was utterly beautiful. She truly regretted the fight they'd had earlier, but even in that fight he'd shown glimpses of his beautiful, loving soul. She recalled with moist eyes the way he'd cried looking at their wedding photo, the way his injured hand had protected her instinctively from impact with the wall despite the pain it had brought him. The look on his face when he'd kissed her, it was all beauty that while he'd never admit to possessing it, she savored every minuscule glimpse of it.
At length, when she could not bear the silence any more, she whispered his name hoping that she was correct in the belief that he was only lightly snoozing. She felt her heart stop when the moonbeams struck the emerald of his eyes and lit them with a glorious fire. Again, beautiful. His hand brushed her arm as the fingers of her one hand still caressed and traced his skin, and his arm tightened around her when she spoke. His lids slid upward and he smiled down at her waiting to hear why she'd interrupted his peaceful repose. She was right, he'd not been sleeping, just restfully enjoying the peace that being intertwined with her had brought him. There was nothing more soothing to him than holding his wife close, blending themselves together until there was no longer a line of demarcation to distinguish them as two different people. A complete oneness of body, mind, and soul was medicinal to him like nothing else ever could be. She was his elixir, his fountain of youth, his strength. If he drank her in, nothing could phase him. Ever.
"Why, Wally?", she breathed making a warm little patch on his chest. He shivered at the sensation and she burrowed deeper into his side, stretching her arm out across his body and winding her fingers in his hair. The heat of her skin pressed against his was intoxicating, but he had heard her ask a question. He battled with his senses and formed a quizzical reply.
"Why what, Kooks?"
"Why did you choose me? I mean when I think of the that girl today, it's clear that you could have had anyone you wanted. You could have chosen much more voluptuous woman, someone gorgeous and curvy like her. Why didn't you?", she was not asking the question to put him on the spot, or for any other malicious reason. It was something she really did want to know. He wound a strand of her hair around his finger, collected his thoughts, and answered simply. Somehow this was a question even Wally Beatles could settle, though he was not very good with words.
"Because you are the reason I was born. You are the only woman I have ever loved, or wanted. You are the most beautiful and precious thing in my world. I. Love. You. No one compares to you, curves or not", he pulled her face towards him and kissed her sweetly, confirming the point to his words with his much more expressive heart.
Kuki felt a boundless joy well up in her chest as she replaced her head on her husband's breast bone. She pressed her ear to him to hear his heartbeat, and once more she softly spoke to him in the warm summer air that filled their bedroom. She felt utterly content. Bliss was the first word that came to her mind.
"Well – I don't know", she smiled as she felt him lean to try and sit up. He had to convince her that she was everything he wanted somehow. Gently she pressed him back into the pillows and continued with a girlishly mischievous grin.
"Maybe I do need a bit more in the way of curves... after all the girl on the beach had everyone's attentions. Maybe if I just-"
"That's it, I can't take anymore! Kooks, you don't need to change anything about yourself. Nothing. You're perfect the way you are. I don't want you to look like her or anyone else except my Kuki. Please believe me Kooks! Please?", she grinned up at him with a glint in her eye, and kissed his nose as though he were a petulant child.
"Well – what would you say to just one change? Just one thing different about me?", she asked him and nearly burst out laughing at the expression of frustration and guilt on his adorable, childlike face.
"I said, I don't want you to change a thing! I really mean that Kuki. You are just right, right now. No way could you improve on perfection, so don't try. I swear I'll never even look at another girl if you'd just-", she cut him off and took his hand in hers.
"Don't make promises like that, Wally. You know you'll look. It's how you look and what you do when they look back that matters. Besides, I don't think the new curve I'm talking about will bother you after you get used to it", she waited for him to reply.
"Kuki Beatles, if you don't stop this and explain to me what you're talking about I don't know what I'll do I - "
"Calm down silly! What if I was to get some new curves right about here?" she queried and silently laid his hand with her own on her abdomen below her naval.
"What are you - ?", then it clicked. "Really Kuki? You mean you, I mean we, I mean really?"
"Yep. I think you'll have enough time to get used to my new curves after all 28 more weeks is a long time, isn't it?", she was deliberately giving him time to process and when he did, the shriek was heard all over town. She laughed until the tears flowed at the sight of him jumping and dancing around the room yelling, and grinning three miles wide. She did stop laughing and shush him when he was struck with the brilliant idea to open the other windows and pressing his head into the screen in each one in turn, shout to all that were within the range of his deep joyful voice.
It seems that Wallabee Beatles was about to be a father. The neighbors were thrilled, that is once they'd forgiven him for disturbing their nights sleep.