My Southern Gentleman 2

December sang along with the radio as she drove back home. She'd missed sharing intimate relations with her husband and couldn't wait to resume her sexual relationship with him.

On a whim she stopped at a thrift store on the way, where she found two adorable dresses that she thought might fit Violet when she came home from the hospital. One was red with black polka dots and a white pinafore with ladybugs embroidered on the front, and the other was lavender with ruffles along the bottom and on the sleeves. For one selfish moment she thought about what it would have been like to have given birth to a second son and then needed the emergency hysterectomy. Never would she have been able to do such clothes shopping; instead she would have been buying blue and red clothing decorated with sports symbols and trains, as she had with Gage all those years ago.

With a guilty sigh she put the thought out of her mind and heard someone calling her name. She turned to see Tammy and her daughter Caitlin, who would now be about a year and a half old.

Tammy saw that December's belly was now flat and gave her a puzzled look. "But I thought that your baby wasn't due until October," she said.

"I had complications and had to have an emergency C-section last month," December told her.

"Oh my God! Is your baby all right, then?"

"She's gained a couple of pounds since she was born," December replied. "The doctors say that she can hopefully go home next month. Here's her picture." She showed Tammy a photo of Violet.

"Oh, she's precious!" Tammy exclaimed. "Now this is your only child, right?"

"I have a twenty-year-old son from my first marriage. He's a junior in college."

"Oh, yeah! That's right. I'm sure you probably already told me that."

"That's all right. I found these for her to wear when she comes home." December showed Tammy the two dresses she'd just picked out.

"Aw, those are adorable! They have the sweetest little things in here, don't they! I found some new things for Caitlin, too. She's already into a size 2T. Can you believe it?"

After her visit to the thrift store, December went to the supermarket and bought meat and vegetables, French bread, cheesecake, and Damian's favorite brand of beer. Then she went home and put her purchases away. Days that she had errands to run were easier, as she didn't have to sit hour after hour in an empty house listening for the cry of a baby that wasn't there.

Her daily visit with Violet had been briefer than usual that morning due to her own doctor's appointment, and her breasts were leaking milk by the time she got home. After putting her purchases away she pumped about six more cylinders of milk to take to the hospital the next day.

When it was close to time for Damian to get home, she darkened the lights, lit the candles, burned incense, put a CD of romantic music in the CD player, and put on her sexiest negligee.

Her heart began to beat faster when she heard her husband enter the house, and a moment later, she thrilled at the sensation of his arms around her.

"Did the doctor have good news?" he murmured as he placed soft kisses on her neck.

"All systems are go!" she said lightly. "We can go back to doing everything we used to do before I had the baby."

Suddenly Damian's hands were roaming all over her breasts, tweaking her erect nipples through the flimsy clothing.

"Let's eat first, OK?" December laughed. She set the table, and as they ate, she told him of her visit to the thrift store and her encounter with Tammy.

"I talked with a man I work with," Damian told her. "He is about my age and has a granddaughter who is also premature. Ism't that funny? He and I are just about same age, yet he has a granddaughter about same age as our daughter."

"Yeah, it is weird to know we're old enough to be grandparents, isn't it?" December agreed.

"It does not make me desire you any less," Damian replied with a cheeky grin.

"Aw, you're so sweet!" December felt a warm rush of affection for her husband.

When they'd finished eating, she cleared the table, piled the dirty dishes and silverware into the sink, and turned the water on. Right after her, Damian reached over and switched it off.

"That can wait," he said. "Time for us now, for me and you." He took her hand and led her into the bedroom, where her sleek negligee was swiftly dispensed with, as were Damian's clothes.

As he prepared to enter her, she felt a sudden stab of fear. What would sex be like, now that she no longer had a uterus? Would it be painful, or distressing in some other way?

Damian must have sensed her feelings, or perhaps even had similar feelings of his own, as he paused a moment before proceeding. "Are you all right?" he asked anxiously.

"I think so," she said, a bit hesitantly.

At first it felt a bit strange, but after a few moments, the feeling of closeness, of intimate oneness, with her husband returned. As they moved together, she felt even more connected to Damian than she had before. Soon afterwards, she lay in bed listening to his gentle snoring and thinking about how much she loved him, how happy she was to have him in her life. She was still sleeping soundly when the ringing telephone jarred her awake early the next morning.

"I will get it," Damian offered. When he returned to the bedroom later, he was shaking, and his face was pale. "The doctor wants us to come to the hospital right away. He said that it is about Violet."