It was 5:30 am when they woke up at the same time. They looked at each other and said in unison, “Good morning, did you sleep well?” It took them both a minute to realize they were on the great room floor and not in the guest bedroom. They just laid there, no blowers or trimmers to disturb them.

It was so peaceful that she curled up in his arms and thought, “I’ve never been able to fall asleep on top of someone like this.” His scent and the beat of his heart made her drowsy as she drifted back to sleep. She didn’t know how long she had been asleep before the sound of dog barking woke here. He was staring at her and she said, “Did you go back to sleep?”

“I was drifting in and out, feeling so at ease next to you,” he said with a smile. “Did you have any dreams?” he said. A smile formed on her face and she said, “Yes.”

“Your face tells me it was a good dream. Do tell please,” he asked. “It’s strange that I woke to dog barking because I dreamt about ‘Kahn’. He was my older sister Tami’s dog. Do you remember him?” “Should I? I remember you having dog when I came to visit but I always assumed it was yours. Something tells me I’m missing something here.”

In her best story telling voice she said, “Well, Kahn is the dog factor of our story. Kahn was a Ridgeback, a big dog, copper colored hair, with a ridge of hair growing in the opposite direction in the center of his back. He loved to jump up on you and lick you if he liked you but if he didn't like you, well, you better watch out.”

“I remember him being a big ugly dog,” he said with a grin. With a dirty look and dismissive wave of her hand she continued the story. “Kahn hated all people who were not part of the family. He chased Tami’s boyfriend David whenever he came over to visit.”

“Didn’t he come over all the time and Kahn still did this too him?” he asked. “Yes, he never warmed up to him. I guess he never thought he was part of the family. We would always make sure Kahn was in the backyard when he came over. I remember one time he came over and rang the doorbell. Somehow Kahn wasn’t in the back and as soon as we opened the door for David, he heard Kahn barking. Then he saw Kahn coming and he started running around his car to get away. It didn’t take him long to realize he couldn’t get away from Kahn so he jumped on the hood hoping he would be safe. Well it gave us enough time to get Kahn under control and into the back of the house.”

“And David ended up marrying Tami?” “He did.” “Was it after Kahn was gone?” “Yes, otherwise Kahn never would have let him carry her over the wedding threshold into the house,” she said with big smile.

“Did Kahn chase everyone?”

“Yes, I remember my mother would always have to make sure Kahn was in the backyard when the mailman or any service men would come over to the house. The mailman was terrified of Kahn because a couple of times Kahn got out and chased him. Kahn would have bit him if he had caught him. But you, you broke the rule, when it came to Kahn. The first time you came over to visit, my mother was watching him for my sister and from the beginning it was different with you. My Mother for some reason didn’t put Kahn in the backyard when you came to visit. You rang the door and Kahn didn't go crazy. You walked into house, took off your shoes, walked over and sat on the bar stool. Not one bark from Kahn, he came right over to you, jumped up and put his paws on your shoulders, and just looked at you. He was in love. He started licking your face, he knew you were part of the family, something I was afraid to admit to myself at the time. To this day we still talk about Kahn hugging and kissing you. “I’m glad you shared that story with me.”

He smiled as the significance of the story sunk into him. Being part of her family back then made him feel special, he said, “I didn’t know Kahn always barked and chased after people. He always seemed like one of the big loving dogs that give you sloppy kisses, got your clothes dirty from jumping on you and made you feel so safe to be around.”

“That is the Kahn you knew and that is why our family still talks about the two of you,” she said. “Part of the family, that has a nice ring to it,” he said. She tilted her head like Kahn as she looked at him and said, “I never got to have a dog as a kid and it always bothered me. Everyone else seemed to have one but not us. Then one day Tami brought Kahn home and I guess my mother couldn’t say ‘no’, so he was important to me. Did you ever have a dog as a kid?”

“We always had a dog. There are two I can remember distinctly and they were named ‘Charlie’ and ‘Whitey’. I can remember the day my dad brought Charlie home from the shelter. I ran out to the car and out jumped this older dog, he came up to about my waist at the time, chin hair that reminded me of a beard, with scruffy grey hair that felt like steel wool but I loved him. That dog loved to run for no reason at all, he would run just run.” She was trying to stop him so she could ask a question. “Didn’t you get to go with your dad and pick him out?” she said with a surprised voice.

“My Dad was old school, Navy fighter pilot in World War II, he knew someone had to make the decisions and that the world cannot be run by committee. I remember asking him if he had volunteered to do reconnaissance flights during the war after the previous pilot got shot down. He said, ‘It’s not like in the movies where the Commanding officer asks for a volunteer and someone steps forward. In the real world the Commander says, ‘Keatington, tomorrow you fly reconnaissance’. So no, I didn’t get to pick out the dog,” he said in a controlled voice.

“Oh, how long did you have Charlie?” she asked.

“I’m not sure how long we had him or how he died but I remember being sad and crying a lot when he passed. My Mom and Dad were very loving when it came to our pets. When Charlie died my dad built a wooden casket for him, we lined it with blankets, and put something special in the box before he sealed it. Then we had a ceremony in the back yard where we buried him and put a wooden cross with his name as the grave marker,” he said, his voice wavering.

“You were really lucky to have parents like that. I imagined your mom being that way but I never have guessed you and your dad being so emotional over a pet.” She said, “Did you get another pet after that?”

Shortly afterwards my dad brought home another dog from the shelter. He was a little dog with soft white hair who loved to be held and kissed. We named him ‘Whitey’ and his character was almost the exact opposite of Charlie. He would sit on my lap all the time. He was the family dog but in my heart he was mine. He inherited Charlie’s dog house that my dad had built. It was in the front yard and looked like a miniature house with shingles on the roof, a door that was a heavy piece of fabric hanging down and ‘Whitey’ painted above it. Inside there were lots of blankets and old jackets to keep him warm because he slept outside every night as our watch dog.

She said, “Even in the winter?”

“It was warm and cozy, I used to crawl inside with Whitey because I thought the same thing. If it got to cold there was light inside we could turn on to warm it up.”

“Oh, but sometimes it gets really cold in Michigan,” she said. “No need to worry my Love, if it got really cold he slept in the kitchen.” I remember one time he got hit by a car and we found him when we were walking to the bus stop. It was early morning. He must have got hit by a car in the night, lying in the street with maggots all over the wound. Someone went running home to get my mom and before I knew it she was there and carrying Whitey home. Back at the house my mother got out the first aid kit…”

She interrupted and said, “Didn’t you take him to the veterinarian?”

“No, my Mother cleaned the wound, put him in a basket so she could pick him up and move him around. For days on end she fed him milk and other fluids with a dropper. Every day she would clean the wound, put on fresh dressings and put fresh blankets under him in the basket. I don’t remember how long Whitey was incapacitated but then one day he was up and running around again,” he said as if a miracle had happened. “I don’ remember ever seeing a dog when I came to visit.”

“Whitey died when I was in eleventh grade,” he said with a sad voice. There was a long pause before she said, “I’m sorry.” There were tears running down her face. “Looking back now, I can see my parents were very understanding. My dad built a wooden casket for Whitey too; we lined it with the blankets from his dog house, and we put his favorite toys in the box before he sealed it. Then we buried him in the backyard right next to Charlie, had a ceremony and marked his grave with a wooden cross. Both of my beloved dogs side by side, I’m really grateful for my parents caring so much.”

He was crying now and she pulled him close, “I’m sorry, so sorry.”

Sniffling he said, “I still have Charlie and Whitey metal dog tags in my memory box. Sometimes I hold them very tightly in my hand and I drift back to the places and times I spent with them.” They held each other close in silence. He mumbled, “Whitey was the last pet my parents or I ever had.” She thought, “Time is fleeting and these days are passing quickly. Four days have passed and we have not left each other’s arms. There are only ten more days with my Randy and that seems like such a short time.”

Then she remembered something that would wash the sadness from their minds. In their emails and chats over the previous months they had been talking about unusual ways to please each other. She wanted him to eat more, so she would present a meal in a fashion that he could not resist. She was so proud herself as she thought, “If presentation is 90% of a meal like I’ve always heard, then this one will be Great!” She said, “Sit on the couch.” He gave her a confused look and said, “Why?” “Just sit down and do as you are told.”

She put a dark satin blindfold over eyes and went into the kitchen to get fruit, honey, chocolate, and whipped cream. “Before we start, I'm going to recite the first poem you wrote me.”

A piece of my heart has returned,

from somewhere beautiful it was learning another way to grow.

Now the rest of my heart,

will learn from it.

The rest of my heart is curious,

where did you go? Why?

I went to place far removed from here, so different yet the same.

I went to learn, go grow, to explore, it was my calling, my path.

Yours was to stay here, and to learn lessons already experienced.

What was it like? They asked.

It was Peaceful, heartbreaking, loving, and tragic.

But I learned much,

and I will bestow upon you the lessons I have learned.

He was felt paralyzed. This was the poem he had included in the first letter he had written her from Berlin. She had memorized it and recited it to him word for word. He was going to say something but she said, “Silence” in a stern voice. He started to get up and she said, “Stay” in a stricter voice this time. He could hear her doing something in the kitchen. Doors were opening and closing. Silverware was clinging. He heard her feet on the tile floor. Then there was silence. He couldn't hear her. He thought, “Where is she?” Then he heard her feet right in front of him. He could hear something being set down on the coffee table. She ran her hands through his hair and it sent tingles through his body. She stopped and nothing happened, it seemed like an eternity to him. Then she bent down and bit his lip and said, “Are you comfortable?” His lip was stinging but he whispered, “Yes.”

“Good, because it’s time for a healthy breakfast. I need my Randy nice and strong to please me.” His breath quickened. She ran her nails over his back and slid her moist lips over his neck. Goose bumps covered his body. He anticipated she was going to bite him. But as quickly as it started it ended. Silence again. He wondered where she was. What was going to happen next? She ran her hand over his hard shaft. His body trembled. “Stay still,” was all she said in a sexy voice. He heard things moving on the coffee table. She was moving around at his feet. He was excited and nervous at the same time. He could feel her skin on his toes. What was she doing? Dare he remove the blindfold and look. He thought not. Besides, nothing could be more sensual than this. He heard some clinging and other sounds that seemed familiar. She said in timid voice, “Breakfast is served.” “Served? Where?” he said in confused voice.

“Get down on your knees and I'm sure with your intelligence you will find your breakfast.” She was laying down on the floor in front of him and had placed fruit, chocolate, honey and whipped cream on various parts on her body. She said a little nervously, “Aren't you hungry?”

“Very, I'm just trying to get my senses back.”

“Your job is to find your breakfast with your mouth and nothing else. There is nothing to think about. Do you understand?” “Yes.” She had never done anything like this before. It was a new experience and new sensations. Her blood was pounded through her body. She could feel the cool fruit on her full breast and it made her nipples hard. Now He was on his hands and knees above her. She watched as he used only his mouth to find what she had put on her body for him. He was breathing hard. Her chest was going up and down with her erratic breath. He found the strawberries mixed with honey on her stomach. As he ate the strawberries, the juices squirted out of his mouth and she was getting more turned on and aroused by the second. She moaned. “Take your time, I'm not going anywhere and neither are you.”

“As you say my Love,” was all he could say. He could barely breathe as the need for more of her rushed through his body. She was covered with goose bumps. He found the whip cream and a chill ran through his body. She clenched as his tongue ran over her breast towards her nipples where she had placed pieces of dark chocolate. The chocolate pieces were melting from the heat of her body. When he found them, she watched him take it in his mouth and smear it all over her rich full breast. Her nipples were rock hard and she was moaning, “Yes, yes.” While the chocolate was still soft he rubbed his face all over her chocolate covered breast. He was moaning. His face was covered with chocolate. She stared at him. God she wanted him but he had more breakfast to find. He did the same with the other breast. He was above her now. With the blindfold on but she could swear he was looking straight into her eyes. She got her courage up and said, “You will clean all that chocolate off from me. You don't want to leave a mess, do you?”

“No I don't.” He cleaned her breast and she watched with pleasure. With each lick she could feel a tingle running through her body. She thought, “So this is was what I have been missing all these years.” She said, “You haven't found all your breakfast yet.” He had a lustful look on his face and said, “I was hoping there was more.” He ran his moist lips and tongue back down over her breast, through the chocolate and over her stomach, through the whip cream and strawberry juices towards her sex. With every inch he covered, her body trembled more. It was alive like it had never been. Every pore, every nerve was alive and she wanted more. She moaned as he got closer to her sex. “I'm ready for the rest of my breakfast.”

“Remember your manners. We don't talk while we are eating.” He found the pineapple on her sex, he took it in his mouth. It was so juicy. The juice rain down his lips to his chin and then it dripped on her. She was watching this. The juices were dripping off his face onto her. She was ready to explode but she wanted more. “There is still more for you.” He pushed his head deeper between her legs and moved his tongue around inside her. He could taste the pineapple juices inside here. Deeper he went with his tongue and then. He felt it. Deep inside her was another piece of pineapple. In a smoldering voice she said, “You cannot leave the table till you eat all of your breakfast.” He moved his tongue deeper, the pineapple piece was so deep inside her. She was starting to have an orgasm. He could feel her love muscle contracting. The pineapple came into his mouth at the same time as her juices. She held his head down there, moaning in pleasure, till her convulsing body was exhausted. She was in love. In a raspy voice she said, “How was breakfast? “Healthy, very healthy,” he said in the tone of man who was very pleased. They cleaned each other’s bodies the best they could with their tongues, but then they thought of themselves soaking together in a nice hot bath.

Next Chapter: Chapter 22 Bath Time and The Ring part 2