Episode 63
Episode 63
Live in the Now
JACK
“Hey there, TJ. How’s my big boy doing?” I waved at the video screen of my laptop.
Troy Jack’s face lit with the biggest smile as he slammed a chubby toddler-sized hand against the screen at home a few times.
“No, no, be nice to the expensive computer Uncle Jack sent us.” Ellen chastised the boy in a sweet, lilting voice.
“He’s getting so big. It’s been less than two weeks, and I can already see another tooth coming in,” I squinted at the screen, enjoying TJ’s slobbery smile as he gnawed on a cracker.
“Dada Yak!” TJ squealed into the screen, pointing a soggy cracker at me.
“That’s Uncle Jack,” Ellen corrected. “Sorry, Jack. He’s just started a play program and hears the other boys calling for their dads when they pick them up, and he’s somehow put the two together.” Ellen sighed and pushed a lock of her short blonde hair behind one of her ears.
“It’s okay.” I tapped on the screen and waved at my favorite little man. “It must be hard, all on your own. I’m sorry I’ve been out of town and can’t help.”
“Jack, it’s not your job to take care of me and TJ. You’ve been doing it nonstop for over two years, and I can’t begin to thank you for how much you’ve helped us.”
“No thanks needed. Troy was my family. You and TJ are my family. It’s my pleasure to help in any way I can.” And I meant every word. If the situations were reversed, Troy would have made an absolute nuisance of himself to my family, if I had one. I was only returning the unasked favor because that’s what you do when you lose someone you love. You take care of those that were left behind.
“Actually, Jack, there’s something I wanted to, um, mention to you. I’ve been avoiding it for a while now, but I need to come clean.” Ellen’s tone filled with a nervousness I wasn’t used to hearing from her. Especially with me.
I braced myself and sat up perfectly straight in one of the wooden chairs in Summer’s kitchen. “Okay,” I breathed. My biggest fear was that one day, she’d ask me to stop coming around so much. Obviously, that wasn’t happening this month, but when we’re back in Norway, I fully planned to integrate Summer into my extended families’ lives, which includes Ellen and TJ.
“I’m seeing someone,” she blurted, cuddling TJ on her lap.
A wave of relief flooded my system as I smiled and slumped in my chair, allowing the tension to escape in a long breath. “That’s great, Ellen. Truly.”
“He’s a school teacher at TJs play program. We met and kinda hit it off. He’s amazing with TJ and the other kids and…” Her cheeks pinked up, reminding me how beautiful Ellen actually was. I’d never looked at her as anything other than a sister to me, because Troy had been gone for her the day they met at the dance, and that had never changed from the time we were preteens, through adulthood. Now that I was looking at her as a real woman, I could see how attractive men would find her. Besides her athletic figure, blonde hair and blue eyes, her gentle nature and loving personality was something I could see a lot of men falling for.
“This is really good news, Ellen.”
She frowned and hugged her son. “Really? You don’t think it’s too soon, you know, after Troy…”
“I don’t. It’s been two and a half years since we lost him. It’s perfectly natural for you to want to branch out and meet people. You’re a beautiful young woman with a lot of life ahead of you. Troy wouldn’t want you to be alone for the rest of your life.”
Her eyes became glassy and she started to sniffle. “You’re right. Troy was selfless, especially when it came to me. I know I’ll never experience a love like his again, but I’m lonely, Jack. TJ keeps me busy during the day, but when he’s asleep, the house is so quiet. Then the memories of Troy and our lives before we lost him come back...” She shook her head and wiped her teary face.
I wanted desperately to push my arms through the computer and reach all the way to Norway so I could pull her against my chest and hold her close, letting her know she wasn’t alone in her grief. She had me, and she had Erik now that he was back to living life again. And above all, she had TJ.
“I will admit to many sleepless nights over the past couple years. Between the grief and the worry for Erik, you, and TJ, it has sometimes felt like the loss of Troy would destroy me. Then I found hope when Erik came out of his severe depression and married Savannah. And of course, now I have a future to look forward to with Summer.”
“Their wedding was so beautiful,” Ellen sighed dreamily. “And when should I expect the invitation to your and the mysterious Summer’s wedding?”
I grinned. “She’s not mysterious. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me, Ellen. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
“You can’t wait for me to meet who?” said the woman herself. She came padding into the kitchen, yawning, her long blonde hair wild around her face. She was wearing a short satin robe over what I knew to be her naked body. My woman slept in the nude, and I knew from past experience, if she was standing in one of her little robes, she was bare underneath.
I looped an arm around her waist and tugged her onto my lap.
She giggled at my shenanigans then kissed my cheek before turning to face the screen.
“Oh my goodness! Is that TJ?” She cooed to the toddler and waved wildly at the boy on the screen.
Ellen held TJ’s wrist and helped him wave. “Say hi to your new Auntie Summer,” Ellen encouraged.
TJ waved both hands, crushing the newest cracker into a bunch of pieces that flew in every direction.
All three of us laughed, and it felt so good to be sharing them with Summer.
“Hi, Ellen. I’m Summer.” My girl wiggled her fingers and smiled shyly.
“Jack has been gushing about you for days. I was just asking him when the wedding was and where it would be held.”
Summer adjusted her position on my lap and wrapped an arm around my neck. “We’re thinking soon, actually. We’re coming up on the harvest, and my mother believes we need to do it on the next new moon, which is technically in a week.”
Ellen’s eyes went wide. “A week. As in seven days?”
Summer yawned and nodded on a muffled, “Mmmhmm, new moon celebrates new beginnings. It’s good luck.”
“Wow, that was fast. I remember you said this Marriage Auction would be quick, but honestly, I didn’t really believe it. Jack, you’re going to be married in a week!”
“Do you think you can get the time off work? We’ll send the jet for you, TJ, and the Johansens. They’re going to be my next call. I know it’s fast but…” I held onto Summer and nuzzled her temple. “Why wait when you know it’s right?” She didn’t need to know there was a contractual time limit of one month. I’d rather she think we met at the auction, fell in love, and just decided to get married right away. The finer details didn’t matter, and regardless of the contractual obligation, I was falling for my fiancée and didn’t want to imagine my life without her.
“It’s so true. After what happened with losing Troy so suddenly, I genuinely believe that we can’t count on tomorrow. We must live in the now,” Ellen agreed.
“I like this woman,” Summer said. “Ellen, you’re awesome.”
Ellen chuckled. “I’m glad you think so. From what I can see, and based on what I know about Jack, you’ve already made him a much happier man. Every call he’s been smiling more, less stressed, and more his old self than I’ve seen him in years.”
Summer ruffled my hair. “Aw, you mean this big lug? Yeah, I think I’ll keep him. I’ve grown quite fond of him in recent days,” she joked.
I laughed and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
TJ babbled his agreement.
“Would it be okay if TJ was our ring bearer?” I asked, feeling my neck heat at the request. I couldn’t believe I was getting married and choosing a member of the wedding party. Troy’s son. The closest person I had to the man himself would be there to see me commit my life to this incredible woman. Somehow that made it feel all the more real.
Ellen squealed. “Oh, how delightful! TJ, my love, you’re going to be the cutest little boy in a tux there ever was!”
TJ turned sideways and shoved his cracker toward his mother’s mouth. She scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “No thank you, baby.”
He shoved the gummy side back into his mouth as if it was all the same to him.
“Well, I’m going to let you two get back to bed and get this one off to his play program,” Ellen said while grabbing TJ’s wrist again and waving to the screen. “I’m really happy for you both. Say goodbye to Uncle Jack and Auntie Summer.”
“Bye bye, Dada Yak! Sum sum!” TJ babbled through a mouth full of crackers.
Summer blew kisses to the boy. “Nice to meet you, Ellen. See you soon!”
“I love you, TJ. Love you too, Ellen,” I croaked, emotion clogging my throat.
“And we love you, Jack. Until next week.” She waved and smiled.
I took a quick screenshot of her and TJ’s cheesy smiles and waving hands. I liked to do that and then put it as the background on my laptop, so I had them with me every day.
Summer watched silently as I changed the background to their image.
“You realize that’s the most adorable thing you’ve ever done right?” She pointed at the screen, and I could feel my cheeks heat.
“I don’t take the people I have in my life for granted. I learned the hard way that nothing is forever.” I nuzzled her neck followed by a long line of kisses.
She stretched her neck out so I could reach lower toward the V of her robe. I kissed my way along her clavicle, nipping at the tender flesh lightly. Summer hummed into the attention and threaded her fingers through the hair on the back of my head.
“Shall we go back to bed?” she mumbled, which turned into a moan as I reached a bare breast and encircled the pebbled nipple with my tongue.
I lifted her as I sucked on her succulent tip then pulled away with an audible plop . “Do you have any idea how hot you make me? Every time you’re near, I want to ravish every inch of you, and when I’m done, I want to start all over again.”
Her fingers tightened in my hair. “If the heat is anything like how horny you make me, then I’m imaging a volcano with bubbling lava.”
I burst into laughter. This woman, no matter what the situation, always surprised me. Whether it was with her body, her actions, or in this case, her word choices.
“I make you as horny as bubbling lava?” I chuckled as I climbed each set of stairs heading to her bedroom.
“Why is that so funny?”
We made it to the bed, and I tossed her on it like I did the first time we made love. I gripped her ankles and tugged her down to the edge where I knelt to worship her.
“Let me see your scalding hot core,” I teased through my chortles and attempted to spread her legs.
She held them tightly together and seared me with a playful glare. “No way! If you’re going to make fun of my analogies, then you get no hot core!” She harrumphed as if she truly thought she could go without, even after she was already worked up. I knew Summer biblically now, and not only did she run hot as lava, but her sex drive was also higher than my own.
I leaned forward and placed a kiss onto one kneecap and then the other.
“I’m sorry I made fun of your bubbling lava-filled hot core.” I snorted and tried to cover my snickering behind kisses to her knees.
She puffed out her bottom lip. “Are you really sorry though…” Her legs started to tremble as I dragged my lips down one lengthy thigh. I ran my tongue back up the silky skin to her knee, and she sighed, loosening her grip.
I spread her legs wide and stared at her perfect cunt.
“Let me show you how sorry I am by making it up to you.” I licked my lips, ready to feast on her pretty flesh.
“Okay,” she quipped. “That sounds fair.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I covered her hot core with my mouth.
* * * *
Later that day, we were at the farm, making wedding plans with Ann and Bernie. I’d called the Johansens and they were delighted to hear I was getting married. They agreed to fly with Ellen and TJ. Erik and Savannah would meet us here after the last leg of their month-long honeymoon.
Ann was showing us where she’d like to have the reception in their lavish garden.
“And for the ceremony, of course we’ll have the altar where we’ll request the blessing of our goddesses. The coven will offer a prayer to the couple, and there will be a unity candle lighting and a hand-binding. I’m going to speak to the Fire Keeper about placing the fire over in that corner for safety reasons. We’ll have the offering table with the blessed wine over there. And I’ll be performing the ceremony right there,” she pointed to another section of the garden.
“Wait, what? You’re performing the ceremony?” I asked, a bit shocked by this turn of events.
“As high priestess, it is tradition. There is none better,” Ann stated magnanimously.
“High priestess? This is the witchy stuff you warned me about,” I turned to face Summer who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Candle lighting, altars, hand-binding. Fire Keeper, offering table, coven prayer? What does that even entail?” I frowned as the realization hit me that my wedding would be attended by a bunch of Pagan witches. “You said we’d have hay bales, cornucopias, autumn-colored flowers, and fairy lights.”
“And we will have those things, but, honey, my faith is important to me. And the coven and our practices are sacred to my family and our community. They are not only welcome to attend and share in our ceremony, but they are expected. It would be a great dishonor for us not to invite them and vice versa if they didn’t attend. It simply isn’t done.” She shrugged as if it was all the same to her.
I leaned closer to her ear. “Are we going to have a bunch of women wearing all black and pointy hats?” I whispered.
She cracked up laughing. “No. Imagine Stevie Nicks the singer and how she dresses. Lots of jewel and earth tones, crystals, jewelry, scarves, silks, skirts and intricate dresses. That’s what you’ll see.”
I took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “Okay, that’s one concern down, now how about you explain to me what a hand-binding is?” I asked as my cellphone rang.
“Saved by the bell,” she chuckled.
I reached out and palmed her nape before stealing a kiss. “You’re going to keep me guessing, aren’t you?”
She cupped my cheeks as my phone stopped ringing. “Always and forever,” she pecked my lips and my phone promptly started ringing again.
I pulled it out of my pants pocket and glanced at the screen display. It was Ellen. Which was odd not only because I’d just spoken to her, but it was much later in the day for her to be calling.
“Miss me already?” I joked in answer.
“Hello, is this Jack Larsen?” a male voice I didn’t recognize asked.
“It is. Why are you calling me from Ellen’s phone? Who is this?”
“Um, yeah. I’m sorry. I’m…uh…Emil Hagen. I’ve been dating Ellen. And she told me if there was ever a problem to call her brother, Jack Larsen. We have a problem,” he croaked. “Ellen’s been in an accident.”
“An accident? I just spoke with her this morning. Where is she? Where’s TJ?”
“I have TJ here. With me. She never came to get him from school after work. I called her phone, and a nurse answered. I came as soon as I found out.”
“Let me talk to Ellen,” I demanded.
Summer placed her hand on my arm, her brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?” she mouthed.
The man on the phone whispered, “Oh my god. Oh my god.”
“Emil. Put. Ellen. On. The. Phone!” I growled.
“I can’t.” Emil burst into sobs and gooseflesh rose across my skin as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
“Why?” I barked, running my other hand through my hair and gripping the roots until I felt a spike of pain.
“Because she’s in a coma,” the man cried, and everything around me turned a bright blinding white.