Designed Intent
Chapter 64
Saturday 4:38
"Do you, Robert, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poor, in good times and bad, forsaking all others until the end of your time on this earth?"
"I do." His thumbs moved over the back of her hands.
"Do you, Gleason, take his man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poor, in good times and bad, forsaking all others until the end of your time on this earth?"
"Aye, I do." She squeezed his hands.
"Do you have the rings?" Judge Weisenstein said to Bobby. Bobby turned to Lewis and held out his hand.
"What?" Lewis mouthed.
Bobby's eyes shot to his friend's eyes, "Lewis. Give me the pouch," Bobby said softly.
"What?" Lewis asked again and shrugged.
"Goddamn it, Lewis, give me the pouch!" he said, not so softly.
Everyone chuckled.
"Oh, the rings! You want the rings! Here, yeah, sure." He grinned at his buddy and handed it over. Bobby swore to himself that he would kill his best friend when this was over.
Bobby opened the pouch and slipped out the three rings, still tied with the silver chain. Gleason recognized it for what it was and her eyes went to Bobby's – "Oh, Bobby, how did you. . ."
He just smiled at her. Gleason took one end of the chain, Bobby took the other, and they pulled, the three rings tumbling free into Bobby's hand. Gleason saw the third ring and didn't understand.
"Repeat after me, Bobby. 'I, Bobby, take you Gleason –,'"
"I, Bobby, take you Gleason –,"
"To be my lawfully wedded wife –,"
"To be my lawfully wedded wife –,"
"To have and to hold, to love and to cherish till death do we part."
"To have and to hold, to love and to cherish till death do we part."
Bobby slipped the circle of alternating round- and emerald-cut diamonds onto Gleason's ring finger. She looked at it and then up at him with mouth open in surprise. Bobby smiled broadly and gave her his band, slipping her band into his coat pocket. His eyes never left her face.
"Repeat after me, Gleason. 'I, Gleason, take you Bobby –,'"
"I, Gleason, take you Bobby," her eyes went to her feet, her face crumpled and she hitched a sob. Bobby bent slightly to look at her.
"To be my lawfully wedded husband –,"
"To be my lawfully wedded husband –," she whispered and hitched.
"To have and to hold, to love and to cherish till death do we part."
"To have and to hold, to love and to cherish till death do we part," it was but a whisper. She slipped the ring onto Bobby's finger.
"Now, by the power vested in me by the state of New York, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, Bobby."
Bobby handed Gleason his handkerchief, she wiped her nose and then they kissed -- a long, soft, deep kiss. Lewis's mother, who had been crying since she arrived, sobbed aloud. Even Lewis teared up. Eames couldn't see for the wells of tears in her eyes and she couldn't take a breath for fear of sobbing aloud.
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Saturday Evening
After dinner, Bobby saw Eames into a cab and waited with Lewis's mother while her son brought up the car. Then he helped his bride into the car. "Happy?" he asked her.
"I cannot believe we are married," she answered softly.
"I know, me, too." He took her hand, leaned over and kissed her lightly.
Gleason sat and looked at the ring of diamonds, not believing it was hers. "Bobby, Bobby, this ring – I, I don't. . ." Words failed the linguist.
"Do you like it?"
"Love, I, it's, oh, Bobby." She turned it around her finger and then, "Bobby?"
"Huh?"
She slipped off the ring and looked at the top edge. "Oh, my God! Bobby!" Her head spun toward him and he smiled over at her.
"What?"
"How did you ever find this? Dear God, do you know what this is?"
"Uh huh."
Gleason's eyes filled and her right hand went to her lips. "Oh, God Bobby. How did you ever do this?"
"There's more on the bottom." She turned the ring over and gasped softly. "I did some research and Tim lasered it around the top and bottom edges. Does it say what I hope it says? Did I spell it right?"
Gleason cried and read again the words written in the ancient ogham alphabet – "All Time. Together. All Life. Together."
"Yes, yes, it says it." She cried anew and Bobby's heart soared.
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"I thought we were going home," Gleason said, noticing that they were taking a different route than usual.
"We are, but not tonight."
They pulled up in front of the Waldorf Astoria and a valet appeared at Gleason's door, another at Bobby's. Bobby gave the man a five, took the ticket and mentioned the bag in the back. "Come on." They checked in and followed the staffer to the elevator.
The man unlocked the door to the Bridal Suite and Gleason stepped in. "Oh, Bobby, what have you done?" She turned and smiled up at him.
"Are you happy?"
"Oh, Love, what have you done?"
She walked into the suite and looked around. It was the most wonderful place she had ever been. The staffer set their bag on the floor near the bed and Bobby tipped him, and then took Gleason in his arms.
"I love you, Mrs. Goren."
"Your wife's name is Wintermantle, Mr. Goren."
"I know; I just like saying it." He kissed her softly.
Bobby opened the champagne and Gleason checked out the fruit basket. She pulled a grape and fed it to him as he poured them each a flute. He handed her a glass and he said, "To us, forever and ever." They clinked, wrapped arm in arm, sipped and kissed lightly.
"What other goodies did you get us?" asked Gleason.
"It all came with the package. Hey, look for a 'box of erotica.' I'm curious about what's in there." Bobby slipped off his jacket, tossing it on the loveseat, pulled free his tie adding it to his jacket, and then unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt.
Gleason noticed a small wooden chest on the bench at the foot of the bed and asked, "Is this it?" Bobby set down his flute and crossed to her.
He opened it and said, "Oh, yeah, this is it." He sat on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside him, "Look at this." He removed a tube of lotion or cream, "'Warming, edible lubricant.' Oooh, that sounds promising," he said smiling at her. Gleason smiled, shook her head and took the tube from him.
Bobby removed a DVD, "Wedding Night Bliss. It's probably pretty tame, adolescent." He said with subtle disappointment. Bobby looked at the armoire across from the foot of the bed, "I bet there's a DVD player in there."
He pulled out a jar of cream, "'Warming massage cream,' it doesn't say 'edible.'" He opened the jar and sniffed it, then put it under Gleason's nose. "Not bad," he said. Gleason took the jar and set it aside.
"Oooh, Honey, look at this," Bobby lifted a long, slender object from its satin, drawstring bag.
"Is that a . . .?" she asked.
"Yeah, I think so." He pressed the end and the item began to hum and shiver. "Batteries included," he smiled at her.
"Why would they . . ." she began and then blushed, "Can we keep these things?"
Bobby looked at her and laughed, "Yes, I think so. Are you going to take this back to Evanston?"
She snatched it from his hand and mumbled, "Give me that."
"What's that?" she asked, looking over his arm at the small tin with a pull-tab lid.
"Oh, my God," Bobby said with a smile.
Gleason took the can from him, "Sliced peaches? Bobby, why would they include a tin of sliced peaches when the fruit basket has fresh ones?"
Bobby put his arm around her, pulled her close and kissed her forehead, "We'll just have to find something to do with them." God he loved her.
Bobby kissed her quickly and went back into the chest. He removed three scented candles, a box of wooden matches, a strip of five condoms – 'ribbed for her pleasure' – and a package of wet wipes. "That's it. Not a bad box of goodies, you think?"
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They stood beside the turned down bed. Bobby took her head in both hands and kissed her softly, chastely. He slipped her jacket from her shoulders and laid it on the foot of the bed. Gleason went for his buckle, but Bobby stopped her hands and undid it himself. Back and forth, they undressed each other.
Bobby was stunned when he saw Gleason's panties and bra. "What's this?" he asked with a smile.
"Do you like it?"
His eyes, and hands, moved up and down her body, "Oh, yes, I like it." Bobby's hands moved over her breasts, over the bra. "Honey, I like this a lot. Keep it on, ok?"
Gleason smiled and pulled his face to hers. Bobby guided her onto the king size bed and kissed her deeply. "I love you," he whispered deeply and then looked into her soul. "I love everything about you: the way you make me feel like a man, the way you love me. I love your mind, your voice, your laugh. I love your body. I love you."
She stared up at him, drinking in his face, his voice. I am so blessed, she thought. Gleason pulled his head toward her again, kissed him then wrapped her arms around his shoulders and whispered beside his head, "I will love you forever and ever."
They kissed again and Bobby's hands moved to her breast. Gleason placed her hand on his and stopped him, "Let me give you a massage, Love." She smiled at him and then crawled to the bench at the foot of the bed and retrieved the jar of warming massage cream then crept back to Bobby's side. "Turn over. Go on, turn over."
Bobby smiled and rolled onto his stomach. Gleason straddled his bottom, took a dab of cream and began to rub his broad, strong back. His skin was like satin, smooth, and sleek; the layer of muscle just below his skin sat thick under her fingers.
"Oh, that feels so good," Bobby moaned. Gleason smiled and continued to rub. She kneaded the base of his neck where it joined his back to become his shoulders. She worked his shoulders, rubbing with her fingers and the heels of her palm; then, she stroked his upper arms, caressing the bands of sinew that defined his biceps. Bobby is massively strong, Gleason realized. She enjoyed touching him in this way.
Bobby had never had a massage. He rested looking left, hands flat beside his head. Gleason was a tight bundle on his bottom, her weight pushing his goods into the bed; it felt nice, her sitting on him. She started at his neck, pushing and pulling his muscles; her fingers are so strong yet so gentle, he thought. The cream made her hands slide over the skin on his shoulders, her fingers gently gripping the muscles beneath. His tension slid away as her hands slid around. God, this feels good, he thought.
The soft scent of the cream filled the air around the bed, lightly intoxicating, sensual, and arousing. Gleason liked sitting across Bobby's bottom, her legs stretched over him, her place wide open to him. She wished she had taken off her panties and bra, but Bobby wanted her to wear them and she wanted to please him.
So slightly, without realizing, Gleason began to move over Bobby's butt as she rubbed the span of his back. Her mind went to what waited for her on the other side of his bottom. Bobby is so long, so thick unlike any of the three other men with whom she had been.
The strain drained from Bobby's body and mind. Slowly, steadily, with every stroke of her hands, the worry about his mother slid away and the stress of work melted from his mind. The wedding this afternoon removed his anxiety about Malcolm. His mind emptied as his body relaxed.
Gleason moved on him in earnest, rubbing herself over his bare bottom, pressing hotly. Oh, she wanted him. She leaned forward and kissed his back, sliding her hands around, under his hips, seeking something good. Bobby snorted a sigh and Gleason realized he was asleep. "Bobby?" she whispered, "Dearheart?" His breathing deepened and Gleason slumped in her disappointment.
Carefully she crept off him, moved to the edge of the bed and pulled the sheet over his back and shoulders. Bobby curled up onto his side and snuggled into the pillow. Gleason smiled down at him and snapped off the light. She removed her bra and panties, took the hotel robe from the closet, got her throw from their bag, and went into the living room.
She retrieved the champagne and her flute from the sideboard, setting them on the coffee table, and then went back for the fruit basket, which she set beside her on the sofa. Gleason filled her flute and plucked a piece of chocolate from amongst the fruit. She finished the champagne and all of the chocolate and eventually fell asleep on the sofa.
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