fast; a pitch that she could hardly track. Without much effort I caught the pitch and sent it back to him with some speed and a taste of his own medicine.
Millie made a sound of pure delight when I sent it back to him. He caught the speedy return and tried to windmill it back to me with even more speed which made me laugh. Wyatt understood that I loved the fast game and he was not afraid of hitting me hard with the object if that’s what it took. Our catch probably would have lasted much longer but Wyatt got distracted by Millie as she maneuvered into a position where she could see the catch better. Wyatt’s pitch went wild and there was no way that I could get to it and Wyatt was eliminated from the catch leaving me ‘the last player standing’ with my title, The Greater Player, still in tact.
After I said my good bye and told Wyatt that I’d keep in touch but would probably be going home in two days because of the progress Michael and I had made for the next PBS special. He told Millie that he was going to take a quick shower and would she ask the next interviewee to sit for a few minutes and that he would be with them shortly.
The rest of the day was spent first in the music room and then in the kitchen preparing dinner for when Michael and Lu got home.
Michel came home first; our hook up was good but Michael was in kind of a sulky mood that I really wanted to change. Try as I did he was upset about something and I knew I wouldn’t improve his mood by letting him know that I was going to leave a day earlier than planned.
“Helen, we still have one more song to write which can take time, you know that. I don’t think you should plan to leave early, at least until we get that song written.”
“I wrote it today. If you’ll follow me to the music room I’ll show you and you can decide for yourself if it’s any good.”
At the piano I played and sang the song that I’d put together that afternoon. Michael couldn’t deny that it was good.
“That’s a good song baby. I don’t need to ask what possessed you to write it.”
The song could have been called ‘Charlie’s My Man’.
Michael came to me and wrapped his arms around me and whispered in my ear.
“It’s just that I don’t want you to go. You make things so much better.”
“I love you, too Michael but I have a life, like you do with a love and a need to be with that love. Charlie is my man and I miss and need him just like you’d miss Lu if you couldn’t be with her and I know that you need her. You know that we’ll be together again for the taping of the special in a couple of weeks. Maybe you can come for a visit after since you’ll be so close.”
Michael’s mood didn’t improve until Lu got home and we sat down for dinner. That dinner together was great with wonderful conversation and hope.
Red Spark Intensity
Charlie picked me up at the airport. When I got off the plane and caught sight of him I nearly cried with how much I had missed him. He was all dressed up in his ‘signature’ suit that I designed and made for him. Lordy, he looked so handsome. His hello kiss was the perfect greeting.
As we were getting into the truck for the trip home, I asked Charlie how fast he could drive because I could hardly stand it that we were so close and still wearing clothing.
Charlie just smiled and shook his head and kissed me again as he started the truck.
“Lover, I can tell that you have a plan. Did you want to let me in on it?” I asked.
“You have to wait and see.” Charlie smiled again.
Charlie’s truck had a bench seat; I sat as close to him as a person could get without sitting on his lap. I actually thought of unzipping his trousers and straddling him for a bit of the good stuff before we got home but Charlie would have been uncomfortable with that and it wouldn’t have been right to interfere with what he had planned.
He put his hand on my knee and then inched closer to the inside of my thigh. Having him touch me like that was the sweetest tease as Charlie continued his foreplay.
When we entered the house I could smell the pork roast still in the oven. The table was set with candles and a small bouquet of flowers as a centerpiece. Charlie seated me at the table and put a napkin over my lap and then he served me the food that he cooked and the produce that he’d pulled from the garden only hours before.
It was a great meal and at first Charlie couldn’t take his eyes off of me but mid way through the meal Charlie was looking down at his own plate. When I realized what the problem was, I took his hand in mine and asked if he could be my dessert.
Charlie’s smile was all I needed as I pulled him to his feet and jumped into his arms. He carried me to bed, removed my clothes like only he could and then pleasured me thoroughly. Charlie didn’t have a lot of words but the ones he whispered were spot on.
“Time away from you is torture for me, your man who wants you all the time.”
His breath in my ear tickled and sent shivers down my back. I closed my arms around his neck and whispered back.
“Yes, you are my man; I claim you and want you all the time, too.”
After that we let our bodies speak for us. We loved each other and made each other feel good.
After a couple of hours in bed, the mess in the kitchen started to work on my nerves.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” I told Charlie.
I was gone maybe five minutes before Charlie came looking for me. He found me just starting the dish washer. He grabbed a sponge and wiped down the counters and then readied the coffee maker for our morning coffee. We were a good team in the kitchen, too.
When we were heading back to bed, I collected my guitar because I had a little thing that I wanted to give to Charlie.
“While I was alone in the music room yesterday I worked on the final song for the PBS special. I completed it and now I’d like to play it for you because I wrote it with you in my head and in my heart for every line and every note.”
We crawled into bed propped up on pillows. Then I played the guitar and sang my song for Charlie. It was a song of love lost then loves return again even stronger and sweeter than it was before. It told of how missing my man made our time together revered and would never be taken for granted again. It was a pledge to do all in my power to keep our love fresh and inspiring. The importance of being there for those who are the most precious in our lives was the final verse and rang of promise and hope and an anchor when things got too crazy.
Did Charlie like the song? Yeah, I’d say he did because it replaced ‘Crazy Love’ as his favorite.
“I can’t wait for Tut to hear that,”
Charlie took the guitar from me and showed me just how much he liked the song.
“Helen squawk, Helen.”
Tut screeched as he came running into the kitchen to greet me.
“I love you, Helen.”
As soon as he got my attention, he stood tall,
