“Good morning, my beautiful bride,” Wil said as he softly kissed a snoring Lily on the cheek the following morning.
“Hmmm…” Lily grunted. “Not. Done. Sleeping. Yet.”
Wil laughed, “No worries, my love, you can stay in bed as long as you’d like. I just wondered if you wanted to continue to sleep or if you wanted to go with me to the store this morning to get some groceries?”
“You have fun,” Lily whispered and then yawned, “I’ll be right here when you get back.” I certainly hope so, this is a beautiful view.
“I’m leaving a glass of water and some saltines on the table right here in case you need them.”
“Love you,” Lily said and turned over on her other side. Her tummy bulge prevented her from sleeping on her stomach, which was where she was most comfortable. Wil had noticed that she tossed and turned a lot during the nights.
Wil was off to purchase groceries for their week-long stay at the resort. They’d go out to dinner a few times, but there wasn’t much around specifically for breakfasts or lunches and he really wanted to spend as much time relaxing as possible.
On their way out to South Carolina, Wil stopped twice for gas and managed to find a Griffin Gas Station for both pit stops. His Pop would be pleased to hear they received good service and the restrooms were clean. He took note that there were no Griffin Gas Stations in the town or on the outskirts of Endings. An observation his grandfather also had made.
Inside the mom-and-pop grocery store in Endings proper, Wil filled his cart with lots of fruit, meat to toss on the grill at the cabin, ingredients to make s'mores, and plenty of drinks. He remembered that Lily hadn’t been drinking caffeine so he grabbed some decaffeinated green tea, which he knew she liked with honey. He also added a watermelon to the cart, a jar of pickles and a tub of cookies and cream ice cream. Gotta be prepared for unexpected cravings.
When he arrived back at the cabin, he noticed the bed was empty and he could hear the shower running. He unloaded the grocery bags from the truck and tossed the perishable items in the fridge. His beautiful bride walked into the kitchen wearing only a towel, her hair dripping down her shoulders.
“My goodness you’re gorgeous,” Wil said as he grabbed a bowl from the cabinet to put the fruit in. “And you’re wearing my favorite outfit.”
“I told you once you had a rain check… I just didn’t know at the time you’d be able to cash it in anytime you wanted,” Lily smiled and eyeballed the groceries Wil has spread out on the counter. “Ohhhh, apples, these look great.”
“I thought so too, I know how much you like fresh fruit,” he said, realizing that he only knew that from lunch periods at school when she’d usually only eat an apple or an orange. “Favorite foods are one of the things a husband oughta know about his wife, and I’m still learning.” Wil smiled back at Lily as she took a big bite of apple. With all they had been through since he told his family about the pregnancy, Wil had developed a sense of protection for Lily. He had already proved to be a papa bear to his unborn child when people had asked why they just didn’t get an abortion, but he also felt the need to protect and care for his new wife, which was unfamiliar territory for the 19-year-old.
“Thank you for letting me sleep in this morning,” Lily said to Wil as they both finished putting away the groceries.
“Any time sweetheart, I have full intentions on you sleeping in and doing whatever you want at least until this baby is born,” he said reaching for Lily, “Then I’m sure the little one growing inside of you will have other plans for our day-to-day activities.”
“Speaking of activities, what would you like to do today?” Lily asked.
“The first thing I want to do is peel this towel off of you and enjoy the pretty girl standing before me,” Wil said as he unfolded the towel draped around Lily.
Her cheeks flushed and she clutched the cloth that was being drawn away from her. Wil came closer and pulled her against his chest.
“You remember that time we took the truck out around Christmas…” Wil asked, nuzzling his scruffy cheekbone against Lily’s neck as she nodded her head. “Well, I don’t remember the exact date, but there was this one time, last winter when we took the truck out to grandpop’s property…”
“Mmm hmm…” Lily said, suddenly smiling really big. “That might have been the best night of my life,” she whispered.
* * *
One mild winter night during Christmas break, Wil filled his truck bed with an air mattress, lots of covers, an electric blanket, snacks and a large thermos of hot cocoa. Not knowing what he had planned, Lily told her family she was staying at a friend’s house for the night. She had five siblings, so it wasn’t like she would be missed anyway, other than when her parents needed her to babysit… and in her words that evening to Wil that was just “tough shit.”
Wil picked up Lily in his truck and she was dressed warmly as instructed. He drove out to the far side of his grandfather’s land where they wouldn’t be bothered.
Kentucky winters meant it could be freezing and snowing one day and sandal weather the next. Some Christmas mornings were white, while others were mild and muddy. The sun had set and it was still in the upper 40s this particular night, so Wil had confidence his plan was going to work.
He stopped the truck on a flat piece of land overlooking a cow pond with a clear view of the night sky. Brown cattails stuck up along the sides of the pond and the darkness of the night made the trees in the distance appear as if they were surrounded by black shadows.
“I’ll never forget what you said that night,” Lily told Wil as he kissed up and down her neck. “You said…”
Wil interrupted her, “I said, ‘The stars in the night sky could never be more beautiful than their twinkling reflections left in your eyes.’”
“Yes,” Lily whispered, “That’s exactly what you said.”
“The statement is still true and I would like to enjoy our evenings here looking at the lake and the stars from the cabin’s deck or hot tub like we did from the back of my truck at Christmastime.”
“I would like that too,” Lily said throwing her arms around Wil’s neck and bringing his head toward hers, “But we’ll have to stick to stargazing, unborn babies aren’t too fond of hot tubs.”
Wil made Lily stay in the truck that winter night with the engine running and the heater on until he was finished setting up his plan. He pulled out his Pop’s generator and secured it next to the truck. He blew up the air mattress and sat it in the bed of the truck, covering it with blankets and pillows. He added an electric blanket on top and plugged it in covering it with a large quilt to keep the heat in. He pulled the covers back enough so that they could get in and snuggle together.
Wil didn’t forget the large thermos of hot cocoa and bag of snacks he had brought. Along with the snacks he purchased, he picked up a box of condoms too, just in case. Wil had hopes for the night, but didn’t plan to push it if Lily wasn’t ready.
He turned on a battery powered camping lamp and went around to the passenger side to help Lily out of the truck and into the back. They were too far out on the farm for street lights to be visible. Wil and Lily both stood on the hatch and removed their shoes and coats before getting under the covers on the air mattress.
Lily noticed that Wil had thought of everything, as he usually did. That was the first night of many they made love under the stars. Just a few days shy of Christmas, Wil held her in his arms under the warm blankets staring into the night sky and he knew without a doubt from that moment on he wanted to spend his forever with Lily.
And their dreams were coming true. The unexpected pregnancy had sped up their future plans, but nevertheless, they were spending their forever together.
“Mrs. WILLIAM Griffin,” he said emphasizing his own first name, “I would like to take you into the bedroom and make you feel all kinds of wonderful…”
Lily took Wil’s hand and finally let the bath towel fall completely to the floor. She led him into the master bedroom of the cabin, where she laid down on the messy covers fully naked and open for play time.
“I’m not entirely sure how I got so lucky,” Wil said pulling his t-shirt over his head.
“Because you’re probably the most decent man on the planet, Mr. Griffin,” Lily said propping herself up on her elbows, “And you’re damn fine to look at too.”
“There are some things we need to talk about and figure out while we’re here on vacation away from civilization,” Lily said bringing the conversation back home again.
“It’s hard to take you seriously when your chestnut hair is spilling over your shoulders like that,” Wil said, “And also because you’re naked and that makes me a little happy and nervous all at the same time.”
“I am serious,” she said with a chuckle reaching for the blanket to cover herself.
“Oh no you don’t ma’am, I’ll be the one keeping you warm for the next little bit,” Wil pulled the blanket away as he continued to remove his clothes and provided a nice little striptease for Lily.
Wil kneeled on the bed and scooted himself closer to Lily.
“There’s plenty of time to talk about the future, my darling misses, but right now I’d rather use my tongue in other ways that people wouldn’t necessarily talk about in mixed company,” he said as he leaned down and slowly kissed her breasts working his way down the small mound poking out of what once was a tiny stomach.
“Halfway along, eh?” he asked.
“Almost,” Lily said breathlessly, rubbing the sides of her swollen belly.
“This kid might just get in the way pretty soon and cause us to hafta be creative,” Wil said as he pulled her legs apart, burying his face in a place that made them both happy.
“Alright, alright,” she said breathlessly, “We can talk later…”