Part 2

XXPMDSXXX

Della finished her phone call with Perry's client, who understood Mr. Mason's ordeal and rescheduled his appointment for Monday afternoon. As Della covered her typewriter, Gertie handed her finished report to Della, who placed it in the filing cabinet.

"Ms. Street, I hope that Mr. Mason feels better by Monday and it was very strange not seeing him around the office today." Gertie stated with concern in her voice.

"Me too, Gertie. I'm sure Mr. Mason will be feeling better soon, and all he needed was some warm soup and rest. I'm leaving the office early to make sure he is following doctor's orders." Della smiled because Gertie knew that Della would be caring for him since they kept their private life secret in the office.

Perry managed to get out of bed after Della left for the office and relaxed on the couch. Perry's stomach rumbled as if he hadn't eaten all day. He placed his palm on his forehead and realized that his fever broke while he slept. He closed his eyes again since he was weak from not eating and looked at the clock on the wall. Although he heard the phone ring earlier, he dismissed it because his head was pounding, and he figured it was Della checking on him. Della unlocked the front door and stepped inside the foyer before she saw Perry on the couch asleep.

Della grabbed the medicine bottle out of the cabinet and a cup of tea before she joined Perry. While he lay motionless on the couch, he watched her uncap the bottle. As she informed him of the day events, she poured the liquid onto the tablespoon and spoon fed it to him. Perry refused at first, but he knew that refusing would end up unbelievably bad for him, especially when it concerned his health. Upon giving Della a disgruntled look after he swallowed the medicine, he turned away from her like a child.

Della grinned at his antics as she squeezed the lemon wedge into the tea cup. Turning her back on him, she started the fire in the fireplace, before he told her that she didn't need to stay in the room. He was concerned that she would catch his cold, but on the other hand, Della wasn't concerned. As Della lit the fire, he watched her until she looked over her shoulder and caught him looking at her backside. Perry acknowledged that Della caught him although he tried to hide the proof of the fire that she caused deep down inside him. When he laid back against the cushion, Della returned to his side and handed him the hot tea before he drank it. It was too hot, and he handed it back to her.

"Della, how did the client feel about rescheduling his appointment? Did he cancel, or did he agree with the change?" Perry covered his eyes due to the bright light.

"Perry, he agreed to wait until you came back on Monday. Since he had important business to handle in the morning, I moved the client to an afternoon time slot." Della softly spoke to him and walked into the kitchen.

While the soup was on the stove, she slipped off her heels in the bedroom and took a quick shower. After she exited the shower, she remerged clad in her panties and bra before she slipped on Perry's dress shirt. It hung loosely on her frame, and she rolled up the sleeves as she stirred the soup. Della hadn't asked Perry about going to her cousin's wedding, but she didn't know how he felt about going either. Every family had that one obnoxious relative that either you couldn't stand or loved to hate. Della didn't have any issues with her relatives, but for Perry, one of her relatives put the fear in him.

Linda was a lively teenager who didn't have a date to her homecoming dance. Perry and Della stopped by after their honeymoon was over, and Della introduced him to the rest of her family that couldn't make the trip to the wedding. He reluctantly agreed to escort her cousin to the dance, and she had been smitten ever since. Della kept reminding Perry that it was puppy love as far as she was concerned, but Perry had other ideas since it wasn't 'puppy love'. He didn't want to disappoint the dateless Linda, and Della chaperoned them.

Della came from the kitchen while Perry eyes were closed. She approached the coffee table as he inhaled the aroma from the warm soup. He opened his eyes and gazed at the site before him. She placed the serving tray on the coffee table while she stoked the fire with the poker. His eyes followed her to the fireplace. He saw the silhouette of her breast and her backside under his shirt and groaned at the thought of not having intimate relations with her before he sneezed into the handkerchief, and Della gave him her complete attention.

"Perry, let the soup cool down before you burn your mouth, and I asked you a question?" Della stated in a low raspy voice which made Perry shift his weight on the cushion and glanced in her direction.

"What would that be, Della?" Perry sighed as he slowly reached for the bowl of soup, and she stood up from the fireplace and sat in the adjacent chair and seductively crossed her legs.

"I received a phone call today from my cousin, Victoria, and she invited us to her wedding next weekend on her farm. It will be good for us to get out of the city, Perry, you know that I can't say no to family, and she wants you in attendance as well." Della poured her tea and looked at him.

"Is that crazy Linda going to be there? You know how I feel about her, and I don't think I need to attend. She is completely love struck over me even with you at my side. Della you can go without me." Perry blatantly told his wife and didn't look back at her while he ate his soup.

"Perry, please. I don't want to go alone since it is a long flight, so I'll make a proposition for you." Della gave him an ultimatum.

"No, Della! I'm not going, that's final. I'm sorry, but I just can't torture myself around your crazy relative." Perry sniffled again and ate his soup as he gazed at her while she sipped her tea and grinned at him. Although they argued and disagreed with each other from time to time, they always talked out their differences through lengthy discussions. Della responded to him while she gathered the empty tea cups and bowl onto the serving tray.

"Thanks for the soup, Della." Perry wiped his nose before he laid back on the couch cushion.

"You are welcome, Perry. Since you're not accompanying me to my cousin's wedding, my body is off limits until you feel better. If you feel better this coming week and still haven't changed your mind, you can't touch me. If you change your mind, you may touch and have me." Della's voice was firm, and when she bent over, his dress shirt fully exposed her bosom to him and leaving him rock hard although he was still sick.

He gritted his teeth and watched her walk toward the kitchen with an extra sway to her hips while his eyes followed her before he closed them. He contemplated the words she just spoke to him- no touching- which meant a whole week in addition to a weekend without touching her. He mulled the words over and over again in his head. After he sneezed into the handkerchief, Della reemerged from the kitchen with a glass of ginger ale. Perry laid on the couch and watched her before he reached for her hand and took it into his. Della turned around and lovingly looked at him with her hazel eyes before she knelt down and felt his forehead for his temperature.

"Perry, your fever broke, but I'm afraid you're going to be on the couch tonight and not in our bed. It's not because you haven't given me an answer over the wedding invitation, but if you have the flu, I don't want to catch it." Della warned him, and Perry nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for the ginger ale. After I rest more, I'll feel better tomorrow." Perry touched her elbow before he lowered his hand to her bare thigh. When his moved to her inner thigh, Della cleared her throat, and he looked up at her as she tilted her head with a knowing look. As he slowly withdrew his palm, she sucked in a breath, and he settled into the couch.

Feeling the loss of his touch, Della wasn't sure if she could bear not having his hands on her. However, she would be true to her word, and he would have to make his own mind up on whether to attend her cousin's wedding. Della got ready for bed and read her romance novel before she pulled the sheets up and listened for any movement in the living room in case Perry needed her during the night, but all was quiet. She finished her chapter in her book and placed the book on her nightstand before she drifted off to slumber.

Perry tossed and turned on the couch because of the constant sniffling and was miserable throughout the night. During the middle of the night, he slowly went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face before he looked into the mirror and saw his five o' clock shadow on his smooth cheeks. He turned the light off and walked into their bedroom to watch his wife as she slept. He loved everything about her, and he couldn't punish himself any longer with the thought of not touching her body. He watched her toss around in their sheets and imagined himself tangled up alongside her, holding her tightly, and nuzzling her neck. He groaned and wiped his tired face with his palm before he slowly retreated to the couch and laid down.