So sorry I've been AWOL for so long. RL has kept me busy, to say the least. Trying to get back in the groove here.

Who's looking forward to AndithFest? I know I am. Debating whether to start publishing another story that's in the works or to add to "Ages" as my contribution. I'm struggling to get anything written as it is but AndithFest somehow feels like it requires something new. Still...

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little contribution to AndithWorld.


A few hours later, Edith lay curled into Anthony, his long arms holding her close to him even as he slept. Her hand was resting on his chest, originally there to feel the rapid beat of his heat once they'd both been satisfied. Now, however, she was taking comfort in the steady beat of his restful state. Her fascination with him, and his body if she were honest, had not abated but grown instead. Everything about him seemed to be long and, for a man of his advanced years as he often reminded her, quite firm. The planes of his chest were still largely flat, gravity not having taken over as it so often did as people grew older. No, in fact the only signs that age had any effect on her man were the slight greying at his temples and the tiny bit of pudge at his abdomen. Oh, there were a few more lines in his face than would have been a few years ago. But Edith considered those to be laugh lines, except the ones at his brow. Those were down to too much worry, she knew.

As she lay there in the warm cocoon of her husband, Edith considered the conversation they'd had just before he gave into sleep. She'd asked him if he regretted marrying, leaving the variety of women that he'd acquired over the years behind. Anthony had scoffed at her question.

"Certainly not," he 'd declared in a loud whisper. "And they were not my women, as you call them. They were never mine. If anything, I was their plaything when they grew bored. It all started because I was trying to find an escape."

"Escape?" she asked.

"From the immense grief," he'd replied solemnly. "I was just so lonely and … and it just hurt so very much. I don't love lightly, Edith. And I loved both Maud and our son intensely. With them taken from me like that, it…. Well, it was just this gaping hole. I wasn't thinking clearly nor was I acting responsibly. I just wanted the pain to stop."

"And did it?"

He'd kissed the top of her head and snuggled her closer to him. "I suppose there will always be a bit of pain mixed in when I think of them. And no, being with those women… it didn't take the pain away, just gave me a few minutes of reprieve, a few minutes where they weren't foremost in my thoughts. I suppose the passing years dulled it somewhat, but you, my sweet, have assuaged the pain more than anything. You've filled in a large part of that gaping hole where my heart had been. You put it back, my heart. It's perhaps a bit damaged still, but … well, it has a reason to beat again. You've given me back my life. Not the life I had before, a new one; one filled with new promise." He squeezed her to him. "God Edith, I couldn't have imagined ever being this happy again."

She'd told him how much she loved him and that she was happy that she'd been able to dull his pain but that she hoped before long he could leave that pain completely behind as they built their life together. She'd hinted at wanting children.

Chuckling, Anthony had replied to that comment that at the rate they were going, a child was most probably inevitable. To her delight, he hadn't sounded the least bit put off by the idea.

The next day they headed for the game reserve. The plane flight was a short one. Anthony considered that a blessing as the little single engine plane was wildly uncomfortable for his long legs. Still, he delighted as they flew over vast expanses of the South African wilderness. They were low enough that herds of animals were in view, along with the terrain, so very different than their homeland.

Finally, they landed and were greeted by a young woman who introduced herself as Sarah. "I'm here from the Kabo Game reserve and Resort," she explained. "If you are ready, we can go there now. I think you'll enjoy the scenery along the drive."

"Yes, thank you," Anthony said, still trying to stretch his legs from his cramped position in the plane. "We're eager to see it all."

Sarah gave him a shy smile and then started walking toward a land rover parked near a hanger. Anthony shrugged and reached for their bags but before he could get to them, a young man swooped in and grabbed them, hustling off after Sarah. Anthony and Edith followed quickly.

The young man put the bags in the back of the land rover and then turned to Anthony smiling broadly, with an expectant look on his face. Edith chuckled as Anthony dug into his pocket for the tip that the young man obviously was hoping for.

"Don't give him too much," Sarah warned. "He and his friends will follow you and pester you."

"Follow me? But how?" Anthony asked as he handed the young man a few coins.

The man nodded and grinned and then climbed in the back with the bags. "He works at the lodge," Sarah smirked.

"Ah," was Anthony's only response as he helped Edith into the vehicle and then settled in himself. Sarah drove them away from the airport and soon the rover left the paved road to travel along a wide dirt road that seemed filled with potholes and bumps. Edith laughed when Anthony groaned as they bounced through an especially deep one.

Another mile or two and they rounded a large curve and Edith exclaimed, "look Anthony" as she pointed towards a large herd of elephants. Anthony noticed Sarah eyeing them carefully as she navigated the road. "Problem?" he asked.

"Not really," Sarah answered. "Just odd that they would be here. Most of the herds are closer to the reserve. It has been a bit dry this year; they might be looking for water, but we do have a have on the reserve; two actually."

Anthony nodded and watched the herd as they drove past. "Poaching a problem here?"

Sarah shrugged. "It is always a problem. But we've been working on it, taking measures to discourage poachers and also to catch them. That's why I don't like seeing them this far from the reserve though. Less protection. And there are two bulls in that herd with magnificent tusks that the poachers would love to get. I'll notify the authorities when we get to the reserve so they can try to keep an eye on the herd." Edith gave the herd one last, sad look as they drove on.

Finally, they approached the lodge. Surrounded by mostly grassland with tress dotting the landscape, sometimes in little clusters, the lodge sat near a small lake. One side was well shaded while the other side stood in the full sun. Sarah pulled the land rover in front and the young man scramble out of the back, taking their luggage in hand, as Anthony helped Edith from the vehicle.

She stood, staring up at the structure, obviously built to blend with the landscape that surrounded them. "You'll have plenty of opportunity for exercise if you'd like, plus we have a gym and a swimming pool," Sarah said as she came around the front of the rover. "Let's get you signed in and then Timothy will show you your cabin," she added as she nodded to the young man. Timothy seemed to take that as his cue to carry the luggage inside. Sarah led the couple up the steps and through the double door.

Edith gasped when they walked into the entry. There was the sign-in desk to their right and a large lounge area just in front of them, past the sign-in area. The back wall was all glass with a magnificent view of the lake and the wildlife that was drawn to it. "Anthony, its beautiful," she said as she grabbed his arm.

Grinning down at her, he whispered, "Doesn't hold a candle to you, my darling."

Edith blushed as she looked into his glistening eyes. "Let's get to our cabin, shall we?" He needed rewarding for that little bit of flattery, she decided as she watched him fill out the form and get the keys to their cabin.