“Not long now, mate. You seem like a sea of calm, so how’s Cindy?” Mike asked.
I glanced over my coffee cup at my best mate, taking a good mouthful and swallowing before I replied. “She’s nervous as fuck. She wants nothing more than to get married, but the closer we get to the date, the more she worries I’m going to get cold feet and just disappear.”
He returned a sympathetic look. “I guess I can understand considering…”
“I reassure her constantly that I will be waiting for her when she walks towards me and tell her all the time how much I love her and look forward to our future together. Even her friends have been calling or visiting to put her mind at ease, but everyone understands how she’s feeling. Joy at the idea of getting married, nervous that it won’t happen.”
“What about you?”
“Almost far too excited sometimes. And after what we got up to a couple of months back, I genuinely haven’t given a thought about being with anyone else for some fun, and I know Cindy feels the same. That night was the final blowout before we committed completely to each other.”
“And it likely won’t restart?”
“Probably not, to be honest. We’ll be married, we’re moving into our new home once we’re back from our honeymoon, and after Christmas and the new year, Stephanie will give birth. We’re happy with the decision we made. We had our fun together, but it was time to settle down.”
“Has she mentioned… You know, going through with the surgery?”
“We haven’t talked about it recently. I won’t bring up the topic as, although we’re together, it’s entirely her decision. It will be my role as her husband to support her. But I’ve told her that, when she does make the decision, I’ll do whatever is necessary to help her.”
“Have you done your own research?”
Finishing my coffee, I nodded. “I’ll probably never stop learning about it. My role is to love and support her and always make sure I have at the very least, a vague understanding of everything she is experiencing.”
“How’s Alexa dealing with no longer being intimate with you?”
“I think it’s difficult for all four of us, Cindy and myself, Alexa and Cass. Everyone else knew that the fun was going to end eventually, but there is a depth of feeling the four of us share that I’m left thinking Alexa always held out hope that Cindy and I would want to keep things going with herself and Cass. She’s genuinely in love with all three of us, but I know how happy she is with Cass too.”
“Would you like to have done, keep it going, that is?”
“Part of me will always say yes because of how I feel about the pair of them. Out of all of Cindy’s friends, I was always closest to those two. Cass was the first friend I ever had fun with, while Alexa has been smitten with me from the first time we met.”
“But monogamy with Cindy is preferable?”
“We’re making the ultimate commitment to each other, and a part of that commitment is forsaking all others. I remember that vow as it’s why I’m a divorced man. Megan and I exchanged those same vows and she then slept with someone behind my back. Cindy and I have always had fun with others together, never without our partner present, no matter what we were doing. I insisted on that from the very first time as I would never have felt comfortable otherwise. But as she was there, I didn’t worry about it, allowed myself to enjoy each and every experience, and she felt the same way.
Anyway, Cindy and I have agreed to ending everything else without any issue. We’ve had a lot of fun, I’ve had my eyes opened to other lifestyles, but in the end, we love each other far too much to jeopardise our long-term future together.”
Cindy and I were both putting in long hours at work, all the overtime we could manage, as we were now saving for our honeymoon. We’d already saved a deposit for our house mortgage and had enough to also pay for all the additional fees. We’d been discussing our honeymoon for a couple of months and we both loved the idea of flying over to Europe, even if it was only for around three weeks or so. No surprise she had selected all the ‘romantic’ places. I was happy just to finally have the chance to travel. Though we were saving, we’d agreed that we would do it on a budget.
Arriving home before Cindy, even after my usual session at the gym, I’d just finished showering when my phone rang. It was Cindy, having parked downstairs, asking me to help her bring some things inside. Putting on a t-shirt and shorts, I walked downstairs to find my fiancee waiting by her car. She ran towards me, jumped into my arms and left kisses all over my face, chuckling away as I gently squeezed her in return.
“Did you send them to make me feel better?”
“And show you how much I love you, sweetie.”
“Well, I loved them. You’re making all the other girls in the office jealous, sending me flowers nearly every week. Then there’s the teddy bear to add to my ever growing collection… I guess our children will love them too.”
I tapped my temple. “Always thinking ahead.”
“I picked up a little something for dinner on the way home. Can you help me?”
“Of course.”
She carried her flowers, of course, while I carried everything else upstairs. Flowers immediately into a vase, chocolates into the fridge, teddy bear into the spare room, as Natalie still liked sleeping with a bear at night. She might be getting closer to being a teenager, but I hoped she wouldn’t lose that innocence for a few years later. Considering she was still daddy’s little girl anyway; I was hoping our relationship would remain strong despite any problems that I knew loomed on the horizon. I remembered what it was like being a teenager, and what Jane was like at times.
Cindy had bought some steaks, so while I grilled those, we prepared some side dishes together, selecting a bottle of wine from the fridge that would go with the meat. Sitting down at the table once everything was ready, Cindy ensuring we were eating by candlelight, I couldn’t help gazing at her as she hadn’t stopped smiling. Noticing I was looking at her, she started to blush a little. “What?” she asked softly.
“I love seeing you smile.”
“Well, a man I know very well gives me a good reason to smile all the time, every day.”
“There’s a good chance that, once we’re back from our honeymoon, we’ll only be in this apartment for another fortnight at most. That gives us time to organise things before we move out. The guys at work will help us move everything. I have all that stuff in storage that you can run your eye over. Anything that won’t suit our new house can be sold or go to the tip.”
“Is there anything you want to keep from what you have in storage?”
“Apart from a few personal items, not really. The most important things are already here. Photos of the kids, things like that. To be honest, since it’s a new home, I’m thinking we can also buy a few thing pieces of furniture once we’re properly settled.”
She raised an eyebrow. “New bed and then spend a few months breaking it in? New lounge and armchairs? Maybe leather so they’re easier to clean?”
She said that in such a sultry tone, I almost choked on the piece of steak I as chewing on. “Ah, I think we’re on the same wavelength here. We’re christening every room in our new house, aren’t we?”
“Mark, are you telling me that you weren’t thinking about doing that?” She took my hand, kissing my cheek. “Trust me on this one, and you can record this if you want. The chances of sex dropping off once we’re married is zero. Absolutely zero. I love sex. You love sex. There is no greater expression of love between two people that the act of making love. In fact, I can promise you that the only days I won’t want to have sex will be in the weeks after a certain operation, if or when I go through with it.”
“I am glad to have a woman in my life who matches my libido. It was shot to shit when I left Megan, but since I met you, I feel like a teenager again.”
Squeezing my hand, she smiled before replying. “If anything, once we’re married, I know I won’t get enough of you, Mark. I have to stop myself just touching you sometimes. And I don’t mean…”
Sliding my chair back, I easily picked her up, plonking her down on my lap. “It doesn’t always have to be intimate, in the sense of being something sexual. I think we can both admit that, sometimes, we love nothing more than a cuddle.”
“I do love a good cuddle,” she whispered.
“Speaking of cuddles, Natalie is looking forward to coming on Saturday. She’s ever so excited about the wedding. Not sure who is more excited sometimes.”
“Is Megan okay?”
I knew why she was asking. Megan was still delighted for both of us, but Caroline had told me that she was also feeling a little depressed. She didn’t live in hope we’d ever get back together. It was a reminder that our relationship, at least that facet of it, was over and we’d both moved on. Caroline wasn’t offended by it, consoling her girlfriend as she could certainly understand feelings of melancholy that Megan was experiencing.
“I talked to her earlier after having a chat with Natalie. She sounded happy enough, said she’s looking forward to the wedding. Admits she’s going to cry for two reasons. First reason, it’s a wedding and it’s a happy occasion and she adores you, so you’ll be greeted with a smile. Second reason should be obvious though.”
“She’s not going to do a no show, is she?”
“Definitely not. She won’t miss it, Cindy. I can promise you that. Her parents are coming, so are our kids, all our friends. Caroline is involved. She knows the focus won’t be on her. Everyone she knows is coming and already knows she’s invited.”
“As long as she’s not too uncomfortable.”
“I think many would think you should be the one feeling discomfort.”
“Not a chance because I know you’re mine, Mark.”