by Donna Raider
“He may get to stay all weekend,” Richie beamed. “His dad said he could use some peace and quiet. Mary is spending the night with Grace. We will all be at bowling practice tonight.”
The boys ran off to the arcade room.
“So, how was your day today,” Leah blushed slightly as she recalled how they had spent most of the day.
“A part of my day was absolutely awful,” the priest said hoarsely. A concerned look crossed her lovely face. “The part between where you left me and the moment I arrived at your office,” she added.
Leah laughed aloud, causing those around them to smile. It was no secret that everyone in town liked the sound of the mayor’s laughter. Everything had gotten better since Mika’s arrival in their little town.
Max and Mary entered the diner. A hush fell over the diners as the two looked around for a table, but none was available. Leah motioned for them to join her and Mika.
Mary smiled broadly and led her husband to the booth.
“Please join us,” Mika stood, welcoming the couple.
Max was shy and uncomfortable around the priest and the mayor. Leah tried to put him at ease.
“Mary tells me you are the proud owner of a new Friesian colt,” the mayor gave him her brightest smile, trying to make the man feel comfortable.
“Oh, yes, Your Majesty,” bowing his head, he avoided looking her in the eye. “A fine black colt it is, too.”
“You may look me in the eye, Max,” Leah spoke softly.
“Oh, no, Your Majesty, my father died for doing that.” Max kept his gaze on his hands clasped in his lap.
Leah made a sound between a sob and a whimper then excused herself, a look of pure horror was etched on her beautiful face. Mika was torn between staying with the couple and going after her wife.
Ruth had overheard the conversation and instantly stepped toward their booth. “We have a table open, now,” she spoke to Max and Mary. The couple quickly followed her to the other side of the restaurant.
Mika strode outside to find her wife. Leah was sitting on a bench, the cold wind whipping her hair around her face. Mika sat down beside Leah, putting her arm around her, shielding her from the cold.
“Come back inside, honey,” Mika spoke to her gently. Leah stared straight ahead.
“I had a man killed just for looking me in the face,” she sobbed. “I’m certainly not one to be counseling Max on jealous violence. That was the example I set for him. What kind of depraved monster was I, Mika?”
“That was a long time ago,” Mika held her closer, pulling Leah’s face into her shoulder and speaking softly into her ear. The scent of Leah’s hair and perfume made Mika’s heart skip as a vision of Leah earlier in the day flashed into her mind. Mika briefly wondered if she would ever get used to how easily Leah aroused her. At the most inopportune times, she thought.
Mika tightened her grip around Leah and held her, praying to ease her pain and anguish. “Remorse is a relentless mistress,” she spoke softly so only Leah could hear what she was saying. “It is nature’s way of making certain we don’t repeat the same violent acts. We receive forgiveness, but the memory of our sins will always be with us as a reminder of the vile creatures we can be. It helps to look back and see how far we have come.”
Leah buried her face deeper into Mika’s shoulder. “You have come further than anyone I know, Leah.” Mika tilted her chin and kissed her, tasting the salt of her tears on her lips. She kissed Leah’s eyes and down her cheeks until she once again came to rest on her favorite part: her lips. At Mika’s touch, Leah felt a calm peacefulness sweep over her.
“Come, Richie will be looking for us,” Mika stood, pulling Leah up with her. Keeping Leah in her arms, she dried her tears with her handkerchief. As they reached the diner door, Leah pulled herself erect, lifted her chin and made a graceful entry into the diner. She took her seat in their booth with all the elegance of a queen.
Mika sat down opposite Leah so she could look at her. She loved to look at Leah. She watched in fascination as Leah parted her glorious lips and ran the tip of her pink tongue across them. “What?” she asked as she caught Mika blatantly appraising her.
“You are just so beautiful,” Mika rasped. “I love you so much.”
“Mom,” Richie and Isaac joined them as Ruth served their dinner, “Isaac just made the all-time highest score on the pinball machine.”
##
After dinner, the family went to the bowling alley. Kathryn and Fredrick were there meeting with workers who were installing a kitchen on the roller-skating-rink side of the establishment. The bowling alley/skating rink was a little over four years old and was one of the most popular spots in town for youths and adults alike. Fredrick was adding a cafe for his patrons. “The biggest problem I have,” Fredrick laughed, “is that the door to the café is right next to the women’s bathroom door.”
“We will need some serious signage to direct people to the right place,” Kathryn grinned. “We had to put the kitchen on the same wall as the bathroom so they can share the plumbing. Saves us a ton of money.”
“I am sure it will work out just fine,” Leah encouraged her friends. “Maybe a larger, arched entrance into the café will easily distinguish it from the women’s room.”
“Ha,” laughed Kathryn, “that is why you make the big bucks. Why didn’t I think of that? Simple solution.”
“So, next week is the big weekend,” Fredrick turned to Mika. “Any chance Brighton will win?”
“I don’t know,” Mika grimaced. “They won’t be a push over for sure.”
“We are looking forward to it,” Fredrick laughed. “Naomi’s B&B is booked solid and all the restaurants in town have reservations for all week. People will start arriving on Monday to practice and get a feel for the lanes. It is a real boon for businesses in town, especially ours.”
“We will do our best to represent our fair city,” Leah chimed in. She noticed that Gloria Thomas had entered with Mary and Max in tow. “Are you ready to bowl, darling?” She linked her arm through her wife’s, more for emotional support than anything.
##
Monday morning Mika awoke to the sound of laughter downstairs and realized her wife wasn’t with her. Scowling slightly, she showered, dressed and headed toward the sound that changed her frown to a smile.
Isaac had become a fixture at the Cross house since his baby brother had arrived on the scene. Leah and the boys were in the kitchen where she was cooking pancakes. A smile brightened her flawless face. She poured Mika a cup of coffee and held it until the blonde leaned down for her morning kiss.
“Ew,” both boy’s harmonized as they feigned disgust. Isaac wondered how long his crush on Richie’s Mother would last. He was embarrassed at how his teenage body reacted to the sight of her kissing the priest.
“Help me set the table,” Richie pulled his friend’s gaze away from his mothers.
“How long do you think Isaac will be staying with us?” Mika asked. “He’s been here for the past week.”
“I don’t know,” Leah shrugged. “It seems that his parents are too busy with the new baby to pay much attention to him and Mary. They seem to do whatever they want without much parental guidance.”
Having Isaac in the house had really silenced their lovemaking. Every night Leah had to repair the bite marks where they muffled their cries against each other’s skin. As much as she would miss him, Leah was glad Richie was spending the weekend with Emily.
After breakfast, Mika began clearing the table. “Mika, if we don’t leave now, Isaac and I will be late for school,” Richie huffed. “If I had a car, I could drive myself.”
“No problem,” the priest grinned, picking up her car keys. Let’s go. I can come back and help your Mom.”
##
Leah text Mika to let her know she didn’t need to help clean up the kitchen, but she would love a ride to work.
As Mika pulled in front of the house, her wife ran out to get into the car. Leah leaned over
and kissed her wife as if she were seeing her for the first time that day.
“So, Richie is hounding you for a car, too,” Leah laughed, fastening her seatbelt.
“He wants one for his sixteenth birthday, which is ten months away,” Mika grinned. “He’s already working on us.”
“I’ve enrolled him in driver’s education this summer,” the mayor said thoughtfully. “I can’t believe my baby is almost old enough to drive.”
“You know I have been letting him drive outside of town where there isn’t much traffic,” Mika admitted. “The more practice he gets, the safer he’ll be.”
“Hum,” Leah hummed, “I thought you two were up to something. I am glad. Is he a good driver?”
“Why don’t you take him out after school today?” Mika encouraged. “You can see for yourself.”
“Good idea,” Leah jumped at the suggestion, “It will give me a good excuse to drop Isaac by his own home.”
She leaned across the console and whispered in Mika’s ear, “You know we have the house to ourselves this weekend. Richie will be at Emily’s”
“Oh, thank heaven,” Mika inhaled deeply. “I seriously need a visit from Magic Leah. It’s been too long.”
“She seriously wants to get hold of you,” Leah said in that sexy, throaty voice that absolutely drove the angel insane.
Leah studied Mika’s profile as she drove. She was ethereally beautiful. No other words adequately described her. She was perfect: a perfect woman; a perfect priest, a perfect wife; a perfect mother; a perfect lover. A shiver ran through her as she thought about what a perfect lover Mika was.
Leah knew how she affected Mika. She had to have her just as Leah had to have Mika. Not just in bed, but in every aspect of their lives. She was certain she wouldn’t be able to breathe for very long without Mika Cross.
Leah loved the way Mika reacted to the subtle, but sensuous things she did to her. The way her voice deepened, and her body stiffened whenever Leah slowly leaned across her, lightly letting her breasts touch Mika. The way Mika’s voice would jump an octave when Leah raked her nails up the inside of her thigh. The way she blushed when Leah whispered suggestive things in her ear. Leah knew the feel of her warm breath on her ear aroused Mika.
The thing that always left Mika breathless and speechless was when Leah looked up at her through long lashes, slightly parted her lips and ran the tip of her pink tongue over her lower lip. Mika always got that “I think I’m going to die look,” when Leah did that to her.
Yes, Leah Cross knew the affect she had on her wife and reveled in the control she had over her. Mika had the exact same control over Leah.
Most of the time everything they did was foreplay for the night to come, touching at dinner; whispering in meetings, even their text messages.
“Here we are,” Mika pulled their car into Leah’s parking place in front of city hall. “I’ll be right across the street if you want, uh, need me.”
“Lunch,” Leah smiled as she leaned over to kiss her goodbye.
“Yes, please,” Mika said hoarsely. “I’m starving already.”
##
Mika almost had dinner on the table when Leah and Richie burst through the front door, doubled over in laughter. “…and then Emily got hung in the tree and the fire department had to get her down,” Richie finished his story.
“So, how was the driving lesson?” Mika raised an expectant eyebrow.
“Great,” Richie smiled. “Mom is really a very good instructor.”
The priest grinned, always happy to see the bonding between her wife and son.
“He didn’t run over anything,” Leah hugged Richie quickly, cognizant of the fact that he was now a teenager and shunned prolonged hugs. “I felt very safe with him.”
Richie beamed, basking in his mother’s praise.
“Is Emily working with you, too?” Mika inquired.
“No, she said that’s Mom’s job. She’s right. Mom has always taken care of the important things in my life.”
“Smart woman,” the priest smiled. “You two run upstairs, wash your hands, get comfortable and be back here in ten minutes. I’ll have dinner on the table.”
##
“Oh, my, gosh, this is wonderful,” Leah fluttered her eyes, as she slowly slid her fork from between her glorious lips.
“What is this, Mika?” Richie asked between mouthfuls.
“Chicken Tetrazzini,” Mika answered, forcing herself to pull her eyes away from her wife’s antics with her fork.
“Where did you learn to cook such a heavenly dish?” Leah smiled seductively, leaning toward Mika so she could see down her blouse.
“San Francisco,” Mika said hoarsely. Clearing her throat, she continued. “I spent a few years in the city,” she explained, pleased that her family liked the new dish she had introduced to them. “The cook at the church taught me to make it.”
“San Francisco,” Richie squeaked excitedly, “isn’t that on the other side of the United States?”
“Yes, it is.” Mika laughed. “Although most people think Chicken Tetrazzini is an Italian dish, it was actually invented by the chef of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco sometime in the very early 1900’s.”
“Wow! I would expect it to come from Italy or Sicily,” Richie laughed. “You know Sicily is the home of the Mafia.”
Mika was surprised the boy knew about the Mafia. “Have you studied the Mafia in school?”
“No, we never study anything as interesting as that,” Richie grinned. “I learned about it on the internet. I would love to go to Sicily. It sounds incredible.”
The only thing incredible in my world is your mother, Mika thought as she tried to keep her eyes off her wife. She had changed into jeans and a low-cut pullover. When Leah leaned toward Mika, she saw that brunette had on no bra.
“Maybe, for your graduation present we can go there on holiday,” Mika licked her lips, trying to replace the moisture that seemed to have disappeared. “They have an interesting way of combining their restaurants and bras… ah, uh, bars…bars.” She corrected her Freudian slip hurriedly, blushing furiously.
Leah smiled wickedly and took another bite of the delicious offering Mika had made her. God, how does she make a fork look so sexy? Mika swallowed, trying to remove the lump that had formed in her throat.
“That would be awesome,” Richie exclaimed. “I can help with the dishes.”
“You go on upstairs and do your homework, sweetheart.” His mother smiled her wonderful smile at him. “Mika and I can finish up here.”
The boy scurried upstairs, happy to be relieved of kitchen duty.
Mika pulled her wife to her feet and held her tightly. “I really am your sex slave, aren’t I,” she asked seriously. “You toy with me mercilessly.”
“Yes, dear,” her throaty reply sent shockwaves throughout the priest. Leah pressed her lips against Mika’s. There was nothing demanding in her kiss, just a slow, languid movement of the soft pleasure she brought to Mika’s mouth. Mika moaned, fighting the urge to carry her upstairs and collect on the promises Leah had been making to her all day.
After they finished the dishes, Richie came downstairs announcing that he had showered and finished his homework. It was still too early to go to bed, so they all moved to the game room where Leah read her latest novel and Richie played chess with Mika.
Richie had won the state junior division in chess but had declined the opportunity to advance to the national level. The experience of New York was still fresh in his mind. Mika was thankful her son had turned down the trip to Orlando, Florida. She had an innate fear of her wife wanting to go to Disney World. Mika shuddered to think of how many “lands” would go up in smoke, when Leah saw Disney’s version of the Evil Queen: Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, and Adventureland, all up in smoke.
The bad treatment their family had received at the hands of the paparazzi in New York had made Richie shun any kind of public appearances outside of their town. Richie recalle
d the screen saver Isaac still had on his laptop. When Isaac showed him the screen, he had thought it was cool. The saver was of a very sexy, barefoot woman dressed only in tight jeans and an open blouse standing with the door half open. Just behind the woman was another gorgeous woman dressed in a full black slip on all fours, crawling across the bed. Looking down the slip one could almost see to the woman’s navel. He remembered his comment. “Man, Isaac that looks like a promo for an X-rated movie. Oh, my, God, that’s my Mom!”
“Oh, my, God, that’s my Mom!” His own words still echoed in his ears. He had almost thrown up in his own mouth. He wasn’t embarrassed by his parents. He had learned, at a young age, how things could be easily twisted to look bad.
Isaac left his laptop in Richie’s room last night. Richie didn’t even bother removing the screen saver. The picture was all over the internet. No telling how many people had that screensaver.
“Son, it’s your move,” Mika, jarred him from his thoughts.
“Oh, sorry,” Richie made a stupid move that allowed Mika to checkmate him.
“Are you okay?” the priest asked him softly, not wanting to disturb Leah.
“Have you seen the screensaver on Isaac’s laptop,” Richie whispered. The priest shook her head, no. The boy motioned for the Mika to follow him upstairs.
Richie quietly closed the door to his room then pulled Isaac’s laptop from his desk drawer. Mika watched in disbelief as the sexy photo of her and her wife filled the screen.
“Emily has just the half showing only Mom on her cell phone,” Richie growled. “It comes up when Mom calls her. Of course, the only time Mom calls her is about me.”
Mika groaned loudly. She hadn’t seen this picture. Somehow, the good folks of their town hadn’t shoved this one in her face. All of them had learned a lot from their New York experience.
“What are you two doing,” Leah opened the door.
“I was just showing Mika something on my computer,” Richie said as he closed the laptop. “Did you finish your book?”
“I did,” she smiled. “I just came in to hug you good night. I think I am going to bed now.”