Eva and the Irishman

by Janne E Toivonen

  “I want to do … this … now.”

  He lost his breath with her vagina so close. It was only clothing that separated him from her. She began slow, deliberate movements with her hips, rubbing into his raging erection.

  “Is this what I do?”

  “It’s very provocative.” He lifted her skirt up more to see her body move in such a sexual way. “Take your bloomers off for me.”

  She stood and did just what he told her to do.

  “Unbutton my trousers.”

  She squatted over him and did what he told her. His erection stood straight up, loosed from its confines. He took it in his hand.

  “Look at me.”

  She did.

  “You aren’t afraid?”

  “No.” she whispered.

  She never looked so alluring and sexual to him before. It was natural for her. She was not putting on, or faking. He knew he had her now. It was going to happen. “Come right down to me. I’ll go in slowly.”

  She did what he told her to. He guided himself into her and watched her face grimace, not too badly. “You have to be brave now. It will pinch a little.” He went in a little more. She inhaled through her teeth at the deflowering. “You’re all right,” he whispered. “That’s my girl,” he said as he began his rhythm. “You stay still. I’ll move.” She looked at him. “Do you like it?” he asked.

  “Yes, it rubs me like your finger.”

  “Pay attention to it, let it grow, let it come, like with my finger.”

  She closed her eyes as if she were concentrating. He could hear her moans becoming more audible. Her hips tilted with his moves. She seemed to be finding her rhythm and movement for maximum pleasure. It was bringing him closer. I’ll let her come first. I want her to really like this so she’ll come back for more. He watched their bodies, locked together, moving together. Over and over, he moved as gently as he could.

  She opened her eyes. “It’s … coming.” She gulped for air and her hips began uncontrollably moving in out-of-synch jerks. “Oh, oh, oh …”

  Once she came, Victor let himself loose. He tried to keep his movements subdued so as not to hurt her. He, too, gasped to his pulses of pleasure.

  Eva let him fall out of her, then she collapsed on his chest.

  His arms went around her. “You did it,” he whispered in her hair.

  “Uph,” she uttered.

  “It’s quite the stunning thing, isn’t it?”

  She nodded her head. “I feel all wet down there.”

  “That’s me, inside you.”

  She nuzzled him in his neck.

  “Can I tell you something?”

  She nodded her head again.

  “Now, and forever, you are mine.”

  She pushed up from his chest and smiled at him. “I like that.”

  As he lay gazing at her, he truly felt a warm love for her. She acquiesced, she did it for him, she loved him, and he was happy. He put his arms around her.

  ~~~

  Victor cleaned her up and redressed her, speaking softly as if not wanting to break their emotional bond. Then he chirped, “Now I’m really hungry.”

  She watched him as he rummaged through the basket, grabbing a small chunk of cake.

  “Victor?”

  “Yes?”

  “Did I do it right?”

  “Did you have pleasure?”

  “Yes,” she said, blushing and smiling. “You did, too.”

  He smiled back. “Then you did it right.” He rubbed her cheek with an index finger and leaned in to kiss her. Again, she surprised him by coming to him and sitting on his lap to be held and rocked.

  As he doted on Eva, he was having great difficulty keeping Olga off his mind. I’m not so sure it was a good idea to bring Eva to the spot where I brought Olga many times. Hell, what’s done is done. It must be this way now and forever. Eva must never know of my true past with Olga.

  Eva opened the basket. She pulled out two big ham on rye sandwiches, containers of salmon and beet salad, hard boiled eggs, a jug of buttermilk, plates, cups, forks, and pastries for dessert.

  “This is very nice Eva,” he remarked, pleased. “Thank you.”

  “There, eat now,” she offered happily.

  “You are acting very much the wife,” he said sweetly and watched her blush.

  He ate voraciously, happy with his conquest and his burgeoning love for Eva, yet still distracted by his break with Olga, hoping Eva wouldn’t notice.

  ~~~

  When the food was gone, they drained their cups of buttermilk and packed away the basket. The gulf breeze was blowing just right to be able to hear the music playing for the folk dancers. They stood. Eva shook out and folded the quilt, then put it back in the canvas bag.

  “Too bad we can’t stay longer,” Victor said. He held her hips as he kissed her, starting to feel better. “I love you, Eva.”

  They walked back, quiet in their love.

  “It feels different here now,” he said, breaking the silence as they walked back into the crowd.

  “It feels different to me, too.”

  “Look at the dancers. It’s a waltz. Dance with me, Eva. We’ll celebrate.”

  “Celebrate what?”

  “Our engagement. What else?”

  The concertina, violins, and kantale played a beautiful love song. Eva and Victor put their things to the side, walked up to the dance floor, and took up the three-quarter beat. They danced in each other’s arms. She looked intently into his eyes as they were pulled into the collective movement of the dancers.

  ~~~

  As the waltz came to an end, so did the trance for Victor and Eva. Liisa and Yuri walked up to them as they held their embrace.

  “Don’t you two look like a couple,” Victor quipped.

  Liisa gave away her feelings with her big toothy grin and sparkling eyes. She gave Eva a look that said “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Let’s go see the parents,” Victor said. He picked up the bag and basket.

  ~~~

  Under the mountain ash, the parents greeted the children with giggles.

  “What is everyone laughing at?” Liisa asked.

  “Someone just told a story, and it was not for young people to hear,” Pappa Mattson joked.

  “Don’t think we are so young anymore, you’d be surprised…” Victor stopped short, deciding that perhaps too much had been said. His mother was looking at him with a half-horrified look. It was as if she were thinking I already know, but do not tell me. I am not ready to hear it from you. Victor had seen that same look from his mother a short period ago, when he and Eva had started to become sexually active. His face flushed hot. Luckily, someone else interrupted, taking the focus off him. He sat down on an empty bench space next to his father, trying to recover.

  His father leaned in close and whispered, “Son, just make sure you are ready for the consequences, and take responsibility if … or when…” He put a hand on Victor’s shoulder in a loving and supportive gesture.

  Victor stared into his father’s eyes, attempting a look of confidence. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I am.” He suddenly lost some of that confidence, but only for a moment.

  His father studied his face. “Good then, but I still see some hesitation.” He patted Victor’s shoulder again, squeezed it, and got up to join the group surrounding Liisa and Yuri, bringing a bottle of wine to fill glasses with.

  ~~~

  Around five thirty in the morning, and after a long, eventful day, Victor pulled the wagon up to the Maki house and unloaded the bench, chairs, and other items. Aili and Liisa woke and headed straight to bed. Eva sleepily gathered up a few items, gave Victor a goodnight smile, and promptly went indoors. As she closed the door behind her, she heard the jingle of the harness and the wagon creaking away.

  Eva removed her shoes and put the belongings inside the entryway bringing her bag with the quilt in it. She tiptoed to her parents’ room and could see through the crack in the door that they w
ere sound asleep. She quietly walked to the other side of the gathering room and went into her bedroom. Her sisters were already fast asleep, neither one having bothered to take their clothes off to put on a nightgown. She smiled in spite of her exhaustion and began to disrobe, finding the warm flannel nightgown from the morning before.

  She pulled the quilt out of the bag and lay down on her belly, hugging the blanket as if it were Victor. She breathed into it deeply, hunting for his smell as she held it fast in her arms. It was still there. She drifted into sleep. Her last thought was that soon she and Victor could go to bed together every night, and no one could tell them they couldn’t.

  Chapter 11

  It was end of August. It all had been grand and glorious for Dolly. She was out of her horrible life in the brothel. She was deeply in love with Liam. Mrs. Dady continued to be satisfied with her work, and she didn’t mind the physical strains of being a housekeeper. But ever since Liam told her and Annie of his plans, she had begun to dread the time when Liam would leave her behind to go to Edinburgh.

  “I made quite a bit of money this summer, Dee. I’m grateful for it.”

  “That’s grand, Liam,” Dolly said. She wondered if the conversation was going to turn into one where Liam would talk about school. She hid her apprehension.

  “I told my wee eejits goodbye,” Liam said. “They were disappointed. I say good riddance.”

  She looked at him with a slight frown.

  “I go in two weeks. Ye have to be ready.”

  They were in the tiny bed in the servants’ quarters. It was Sunday afternoon. Annie had gone to Mass at her Catholic church, and Liam’s parents were at dinner somewhere. They had just obliged each other orally, since it was not a safe week. They decided it was wise to avoid pregnancy, lucky to have done it so far. Liam was tracing Dolly’s breasts with his fingertip as she stretched, pleasantly drowsy from having climaxed under his highly-skillful tongue.

  “Don’t remind me, Liam. What am I to do when ye’re gone?” She rolled into his chest and neck, needing his cuddling and holding. For the first time in weeks she felt insecure.

  “Ye’re goin’ to have to stand on your own. I know ye can do it. Ye have it in ye.”

  As Dolly's anxiety increased, she pushed herself more deeply into Liam. For a few moments, he pulled her close and held her.

  “I love ye,” he said into her hair. “Do ye know that?”

  She nodded, not speaking or looking up, face still buried in his neck.

  “Then, if I’m goin’ to be successful and earn my degree, and you stayin’ safe while I’m gone, we’ve got to do this.” He waited a few seconds. “Hummm?” He rubbed his chin on the top of her head. Her head reluctantly nodded in the affirmative.

  “I’m scared that I won’t be able to bear ye gone from me.”

  “I’ll miss ye fierce, too, Dolly. It’ll be hard for me as well.”

  “Make love to me, Liam.”

  “I just did.”

  “Come inside me, now.” She tried to sound demanding, but it wasn’t quite in her.

  He lifted her from his chest and looked at her. “No,” he whispered. “That’s the worst thing we could do and ye know it.”

  She tried to pout, but she broke into a sweet, alluring smile that always made Liam melt. She kissed him with passion and climbed on top of him.

  Just when she thought she might get her way, he stopped himself. “Stop it, Dolly. I’ll not do it.” He was all grins at her manipulative attempt. “But …” He gave her his own version of an alluring look, which always made her melt. “Did ye know how nice and plump ye’re gettin’?” He started placing little kisses on her belly and thighs as he laid her down on her back. “May I?” he asked.

  She smiled as she arched her back, pushing her breasts to his wet lips and warm tongue.

  “Uhh,” she breathed.

  ~~~

  The day before Liam was to take the passenger steamer from Belfast to Glasgow, he saw that Dolly’s already-rough week took a turn for the worse. He had watched her fall apart progressively over the last few days. Unbeknownst to Liam, his mother had ordered Dolly to pack his steamer trunk. He was preparing to do this himself, fetching one from the attic the day before in preparation for the task. Annie had told him in the privacy of the kitchen what his mother had done. Liam knew how much his leaving weighed on Dolly’s emotions. The steamer trunk incident seemed deliberate and cruel on his mother’s part although he was sure she was completely unaware of his love for Dolly.

  “She’s the housekeeper, not a personal maid, for Christ’s sake,” Liam said to Annie. “I’m perfectly capable of packin’ my own belongin’s.”

  “All she could do was say ‘Yes, mum,’” Annie added. “I even said I could do it because Dolly needed to clean out the hallway closet upstairs. Your mother said ‘the girl’ was capable of doing both.”

  “The girl,” Liam seethed.

  “Liam, do not do anythin’,” Annie warned.

  What he did do was to go up the back stairs to help Dolly. It was not unusual for employers to require packing be done by maids or personal assistants, but Liam had always packed for himself, and so did his mother—for all their trips. All of a sudden, Dolly was required to do his packing. Does Mother suspect something? Anything? His mind was racing and his hackles were up.

  He walked quietly through the upstairs hallway and knocked softly on the door so as not to startle Dolly when he entered. As he closed the door behind him, she put up her hand and arm.

  “Do not say anything, or touch me, Liam. If I don’t do this, your mother will suspect somethin’.” Dolly looked like she had been crying. She reached for a small pile of shirts from his dresser drawers that she had placed on the bed. “You may as well just leave so I can finish.” She pointed to the door.

  For the first time since they met, Liam saw Dolly angry. In a way, he was glad to see the spark in her. She couldn’t deny her employer’s orders, so she was venting to him.

  “I should’ve done it sooner," Liam whispered. "I had no idea my mother even thought about it. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, perhaps I needed somethin’ to make me stronger.”

  His concern for her and the state she was in caused him great angst. He loved her so much. All he could do was to bow to her wish to leave her to his mother’s callous orders. He turned to go out and, as he turned to look back at her, he saw her tears flow. He walked to the back stairs. In his descent, he collapsed somewhere in the middle and burst into his own tears. What in God’s name am I doin’? No! We have to keep goin’.

  Supper in the kitchen that night between the three of them was subdued but oddly celebratory, in spite of the packing glitch.

  “I’m so proud of ye, lad, fer goin’ off to school,” Annie said. She looked like she might break into tears.

  “If we stay focused on the end result, this should not be as difficult as we think.” Liam looked at Dolly. He hoped that the packing trauma was over, or at the very least, behind her. She wasn’t making eye contact. He understood.

  “Can we say our good-byes tonight?” Annie asked Liam. “I want to be quite scarce tomorrow morning as you leave. I don’t care to blubber if the elders are around.”

  In a small, sweet voice Dolly said, “I’ll write ye every night before I go to bed. Don’t expect perfect spellin’, though.” She tried a faint smile at him. She had very little schooling as a child.

  “Well, if ye’re willin’,” Annie said, “I’ll help ye with that. I mean the words ye want to share with me.”

  Liam smiled at the two women as he watched them. They had become good friends over the summer.

  “I’ll write before I go to bed each night,” Liam said. “Although I have a feeling my studies will keep me busy. Even if it may be a few lines in between my work I will write, to both of you.”

  “Tomorrow I will open a post office box so our letters from ye don’t come to the house,” Annie said. “I don’t want yer mother gettin’ wind of
anythin’.”

  “I’ll write an obligatory note once a month to my parents that will come here,” he said.

  There was a nervous pause in the conversation that Annie quickly filled. “I have a special dessert for all of us,” she said enthusiastically. She stood up from her chair, put the empty plates in the sink, and went to the pie safe. Liam and Dolly joined in the clean-up as they always had while Annie fetched a still-warm raisin cake—Liam’s favorite.

  “Oohh,” Liam cooed, eyes wide. “I knew. I smelled it earlier.”

  They all smiled as they forked into their pieces, having hot coffee with it. They ate cozily together.

  “Before ye go to bed Liam, I have a gift for ye,” Annie said. She went to a drawer in the cupboard and pulled out a small wrapped box with a well-used piece of blue ribbon tied around it.

  “What’s this now?” Liam asked, feeling flushed a bit.

  “Ye’ll have to open it to find out.”

  He smiled softly at Annie as he quickly unwrapped the little box. “It’s beautiful, Annie. A pocket watch. This will be put to very good use. Thank you.”

  “It was me father’s. My husband had use of it. Now I’d like ye have it. I had it fixed just for this day.”

  “It’s brilliant.” He stood and pulled Annie up from her chair. Their embrace, filled with love, strengthened their bond in ways words could never describe.

  “Do me proud, darlin’,” Annie whispered.

  ~~~

  That night Dolly and Liam made oral love in his bed. To Dolly it felt tender and soft. Dolly had resigned to do whatever they needed to do to eventually be together for the rest of their lives.

  When they finally spoke, it was almost dawn Sunday, the morning Liam was leaving. They were wrapped in each other’s arms. Dolly was not going to join him when the taxi came. After the moment, she would leave his room that morning, she would not see him until Christmas.

  “I know ye’ll do your best in school, Liam,” she said. “I can’t believe I’ll be marrying a doctor someday—oh, that’s if ye do want to marry me.” She flushed with embarrassment.