Water Signs: A Story of Love and Renewal

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"Hey, baby, you like your burgers well done, right?" He called out to

her from the screened-in porch, where he was busily getting their main

course together, while she tended to side dishes in his showroom perfect

kitchen. They'd taken the opportunity to "christen" Ken's new grill

together, since the balmy, clear evening had proven conducive to an

impromptu cookout. With the rainy season around the corner, it was wise

to take advantage of nice weather while they could.

"You remember, Mr. Lockheart! I'm very impressed!" she replied,

lining up condiments including ketchup, relish, mustard and dill pickles on

the granite countertop. She laughed when she heard him retort, "Still

doubting me after all these years! Ok, then Miss Rose, you'll be forced to

make it up to me later, when we discuss a proper punishment!" It felt so

incredibly good to joke around again; she'd sorely missed all of the fun

they'd shared together.

"How 'bout if I finally teach you how to ballroom dance properly?"

she offered, awaiting the sounds of his faraway voice to drift into the

room from his slightly distant location. Instead, she was treated to a mild

shock when a playful Ken snuck up behind her and boisterously lifted her

into the air.

"Kenny!" she scolded playfully. "I'm gonna kill you for scaring me

like that!" But her uncontrollable laughter gave away her levity as he spun

her around a few times amid the ultramodern, stainless steel appliances.

Placing her back on her feet, he whispered softly, "Not if I have

anything to say about it sweetheart," and then proceeded to smother her

neck in soft, wet kisses.

"God, you feel and smell so good," he declared rapturously. "Maybe

we should skip dinner and head right to dessert!" And though she laughed

again, he felt her tense up a bit in his arms.

"Hey," he said softly, turning her around to face him. "I'm just

teasing, baby. Well-not about how much you turn me on, but the part

about doing something about it immediately. You know, I would never

push you to do anything you're not ready for, right? I may be older now,

but I am still the same patient guy you remember. I mean it, Madeline.

Especially after everything you've been through, the last thing I would

ever do is put more pressure on you."

"It's ok, baby," she soothed him. "Believe me; I know what kind of

decent, honorable and dependable man you are-at least, I fully get that

now, even if I didn't appreciate it back then. And I want you to realize,

every problem I shared with you today has been solved. Once I found

Carla, the women's physical therapist, and then learned how to continue

my treatments at home with a dilator, the pain during intimacy went away;

it actually started to feel good. Well, at least until the relationship with Tag

went south.

"And don't worry; I don't consider what happened with Ray to be

nothing more than a mistake, a lesson that happened to come with an

expensive price tag. But even that problem's been solved with natural

remedies. I haven't had an issue with it in years. Look, don't get me

wrong, modern medicine is wonderful-but that doesn't mean the

doctors or the conventional wisdom are always right, especially when they

swear there's no cure for something. I found the cure because I kept

searching for one."

"You are a persistent girl," he stated. "It's one of the many reasons

why I am so crazy about you." With that, he pulled her into his arms for

another spellbinding kiss.