What bothered her even more than that was the realization that this was their fourth spat in less than a week. And it almost always came back to one thing—money, or rather, their lack of money. It didn’t seem right to Abigail that two people who loved each other like they did would quarrel so much. Their finances kept them on edge and made it hard to enjoy the simple things that had drawn them together, the long walks, the heartfelt talks into the night, even the beautiful lovemaking.
***
Out in the backyard, Jackie too was regretting her part in souring their weekend. Abigail had been in a rotten mood for weeks, it seemed, impatient and easily flustered. And on top of the usual dog problems, which were often at the center of their arguments, Abigail was accusing her of not caring about her feelings, and nothing could be further from the truth. Until she found out what was really underneath it all and made it right, things weren’t looking good at all for Danny Boy.
Mindlessly, and for what seemed like the fiftieth time, she threw the slobbery tennis ball the length of the yard. Wally usually managed to snatch it from the air on the first bounce, and it was only a matter of seconds before he placed it at her feet for another toss.
Mo and Molly frolicked in the brown grass, acting every bit like the brother and sister they were, climbing over one another, teeth bared in playful growls. Sweet Pea darted from Jackie to the door and back, needing both motherly attention and a path to escape the bigger dogs. Each time she drew close to Jackie, Wally roared back with the ball, sending her scurrying to the step.
“Last time, Wally.” Jackie threw the ball high in the air and clapped as the mutt caught it on the fly. “’Atta boy!” Abruptly, she turned away, her signal that the game was done.
The dog barked in vain for another toss, but Jackie shushed him by merely holding up a finger. “No more.” Wally knew it was a hopeless cause when the finger went up and he quickly left her side to join the beagles, seemingly trying his best to act as though it was what he wanted to do anyway.
“Come here, Sweet Pea. You need a little loving, too.”
The little dog quickly ran over and Jackie stooped to scratch her ears. From the corner of her eye, she could see Abigail watching them from the window. “I screwed up, Sweet Pea. Abigail’s mad at us, and I can’t say as I blame her.”
The dog responded to the sad voice as if it were a scolding.
“It’s not your fault, little girl. It’s mine.” She looked up to the window as Abigail walked away. “I’m going to have to go back in there and make up. And it better be good, too…in case I have to come home Monday with a new big brother for you.”
Standing as tall as she could to gather her courage, Jackie started slowly through the back door, leaving all but Sweet Pea in the yard. In her first act of contrition, she hung her jacket on the hook behind the door. Abigail probably wouldn’t notice it in its proper place, but she was sure notice it if it were slung over one of the kitchen chairs or balled up on the couch.
“Abigail?” She stopped in the bathroom to wash the tennis ball slime from her hands then followed Sweet Pea to the bedroom, where Abigail was spreading fresh yellow sheets. “Let me help.”
They made the bed in silence. Jackie searched Abigail’s face for signs of anger, but found none. That gave her confidence to plow ahead, hoping her apology wouldn’t simply set the argument in motion again.
“I’m really sorry, babe.”
“Me too.”
They exchanged tentative smiles.
“I know the dogs are driving you nuts.”
“I’m already nuts, Jackie.” She gave a small laugh.
“And I’m nuts about you…and I do care when something bothers you.” She crawled on her knees across the bed and held out her arms. “Even if I do stupid things that make you think I don’t.”
“I know you care.” Abigail met her halfway and allowed herself to be folded into Jackie’s embrace. “It just hurt my feelings a little bit.”
“What if I kissed all your feelings and made them better?” Jackie started with the soft spot just beneath Abigail’s ear, her on-off switch for heating things up. With her lips slightly parted, she made a gentle suction then released it to flick her tongue over the lobe, making sure that her breath blew hotly into Abigail’s ear.
“My ear’s…feeling better…already,” Abigail murmured.
“And what about your neck?” She ducked beneath Abigail’s chin to nibble on her throat, made more accessible when Abigail let her head fall back. “Did its feelings get hurt too?”
“Some…but not a lot.”
Jackie grabbed the bottom of Abigail’s long-sleeved T-shirt and tugged it upward over her head. “And these?” She slipped her fingertips beneath the lace trim of Abigail’s camisole, gently touching her nipples, which were already growing stiff from the attention.
“Oh, those were hurt pretty bad.”
The camisole followed the T-shirt, giving Jackie access to soft, round breasts. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured kissing first one, then the other. “I’ll do anything to make up for the pain I’ve caused you both.”
Abigail looked down as Jackie’s tongue circled her eager nipple. “They’re kind of pouting. It may take a while for them to feel better.”
“Whatever it takes.” Jackie leaned sideways, guiding Abigail to lie on her back, her face never leaving the valley between Abigail’s breasts. “Can’t have their feelings hurt.”
Abigail wrapped her arms around Jackie’s shoulders and pulled her closer. “I have a bunch of places that hurt a little.”
“Don’t worry, Abigail. I’m going to find them all.” She cupped a breast and brought it to her lips. With her free hand, she worked the button and zipper on Abigail’s jeans. When she got them open, she squeezed her hand inside, quickly finding a wellspring of excitement. She coated her fingers with the slickness, which she then used to paint a line across Abigail’s stomach to the neglected breast. “I love the way you smell,” she said, inhaling deeply to savor the scent.
“You get me so hot,” Abigail panted, her hips squirming already as she sought contact.
Jackie lapped up the moisture that ringed the nipple before following the trail back to its source. Now impatient to have it all at once, she sat up and pushed the jeans and panties lower until Abigail kicked them off and opened her legs in shameless invitation. Jackie quickly shed her own clothes and plowed head first into the throbbing flesh, her body curled so that her knees were next to Abigail’s head.
“Is this helping your feelings?” she mumbled between laps.
“It’s a little better…I’ll be…ohhhh”—Jackie’s stiffened tongue was teasing her clit—“I’ll be all better if I come.”
“Oh, you’re definitely going to come.” Jackie stopped her actions and reached into the drawer of the nightstand to retrieve a bright blue, V-shaped stimulator.
“Mmmmm…does this mean you’re going to play too?”
If they got the angle just right, they could make love face to face, with Jackie inserting the smaller end of the dildo into herself as Abigail took the larger end. But she had something else in mind for today. “Unh-uh…this is just for you.”
“I’ve always said you spoiled me.”
Jackie made quick work of coating the flexible silicone toy with lubricant and bending it so that ends were closer together. “I just want to make sure we fix all those places that got their feelings hurt.”
Abigail’s physical response to the preparations was instantaneous, and Jackie used a fingertip to spread the wetness that seeped from her core over her swollen lips and puckered anus. Then she gently inserted the smaller end bare millimeters past the tightly rimmed orifice. “You like?”
She could see Abigail concentrate on calming her body, fighting the instinct to resist the probe. Younger than Jackie by six years and far less experienced when it came to sexual matters, it had taken her awhile to open up to experimentation with toys and new sensations. But over time, they had
built the sort of trust that erased all the boundaries.
Jackie slid the larger end inside Abigail’s vagina and began to slowly pump both ends of the probe in tandem. “These two parts should be feeling better soon.”
“Oh, they are.”
“Have I missed any places that got their feelings hurt?”
“I don’t think I have any more places…and if I do, I’m not sure I care about them.”
“We mustn’t leave anything neglected,” Jackie said, lowering her head one last time to swirl her tongue around the throbbing clit.
“Ohhhh.” Abigail’s whole body shuddered. “Are you going to let me come now? ’Cause I really want to.” She rocked her hips up and down to match the rhythm of the toy.
Jackie answered by sucking the clit between her lips and grazing it gently with her teeth. That was all it took, and she nearly lost a handful of hair when the climax roared through Abigail like a pounding wave.
Her signal that the first one was finished—there was always another tucked away in there—was Abigail pulling on her leg. Jackie complied, swinging her knee over to straddle Abigail’s face. Again, she went to work with her hands and mouth, running her tongue over the still-swollen lips and rocking the dildo up and down to stimulate first one orifice, then the other. It was all she could do to concentrate when Abigail zeroed in on her clit. She stopped her motions when her own climax began, but resumed at a fever pitch as she glided down from her release.
From where she lay, now spent, Jackie could see the toy twitch as Abigail was racked with aftershocks. When they finally ceased, she eased the probes from their respective hollows and set the toy at the foot of the bed.
“Come up here and hold me,” Abigail whispered.
Jackie twisted around and lay alongside her, wrapping both an arm and a leg around her nude form. “Have we chased away all the things that hurt?”
“I love you.”
Jackie took notice of the serious tenor of her voice. “I love you too, Abigail—more than anything in my life. I’m really sorry I hurt your feelings.”
Abigail stretched up and kissed her nose. “I overreacted. I was just having a bad day. But I’ll take the make-up sex any time.”
“Do you know”—Jackie propped up on her elbow so she could look Abigail in the eye—“how lucky I feel that I’m the one who gets to be with you like this? Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“For me too.”
Again, they kissed, and Jackie relaxed inside with the knowledge that everything was once again okay in their world. She turned over and reached for her clothes. “Now could I interest you in a peanut butter sandwich?”
***
“Of all the places in this house you could sit, why does it have to be right here?”
Mango was in his usual position atop the couch, but his front paws rested on Abigail’s shoulder as she worked through her biology assignment. It was the only science course required in her program, and she had a high B average.
“You know I don’t like cats,” she continued, flipping through her lab notes to fill in the answers to the questions in her workbook. “Why can’t you be more like Tao or Clementine?”
For the most part, the black Siamese shunned human contact, but could easily be enticed to play. His preferred perch was the top of the entertainment center, from where he had a perfect view of the whole house—and all of the dogs. Clementine usually curled up in one the kitchen chairs, tucked beneath the table and out of sight.
Mango took the admonition in stride, gently kneading Abigail’s shoulder in response to her voice.
Suddenly, Molly bounded into the room with Mo in hot pursuit of the object she carried between her teeth. Instantly, Abigail recognized one of her sneakers. “Drop it, Molly!” She leaped off the couch, which Molly and Mo took to mean that the chase was on. The beagles circled the coffee table twice, scattering papers and tipping over a water glass.
“Jackie! Come get these dogs!” Her bellow startled Molly into releasing her prize, which by now was shredded at the toe.
Jackie walked through the living room to the kitchen and opened the back door. “Out!”
Mo and Molly took off, as did Wally, who had been sound asleep with Jackie in the bedroom.
“Sorry, babe.” Jackie grabbed a kitchen towel to mop up the water.
“Why did you let Molly get my shoe?”
“I didn’t see her. I fell asleep.”
Abigail sighed and sank again to the couch, gathering her strewn papers into neat stacks again.
“Are you going to have to work all day?” Jackie asked, nodding her head toward the textbook.
“I need to finish writing up all the lab results in my workbook. We have to turn them in week after next.”
“That’s plenty of time. You ought to take a break and relax. Sunday’s almost gone and before you know it, we’re back in the grind and you haven’t even had a weekend.”
“I know, but this is easier if I do it while it’s still fresh in my head. I’m afraid if I put it off, I’ll forget it all.”
Jackie sat down in the recliner and raised the footstool. “It’s bad enough that we don’t have enough money. We don’t give ourselves enough time to relax together either.”
“I know, it sucks. But the semester’s almost over.”
“Which just means there’s another semester right around the corner. You’ve been taking classes as long as I’ve known you. It’s like it’s never going to end.”
Abigail couldn’t resist the segue, especially since it was Jackie who had opened the door. “It feels that way to me too sometimes. I’ve been thinking it might be easier if I cut back to a part-time shift at work and went full-time to school. I could get it over with and be finished in a year. Then I could get a real job for a lot more money and we wouldn’t have to worry about being broke all the time.”
Jackie shook her head. “If you went to school full-time, we’d have even less time together. Sunday’s the only day we’re both at home and you’re always doing stuff for school.”
The conversation wasn’t starting out quite how Abigail had hoped, but she didn’t want to be heavy-handed and make demands. It was important that Jackie see how much better things would be if they made the investment of time and money now. “I was just thinking that one year at full speed would be better than dragging it out like this for another three years.”
“But what you’re talking about is a whole year of never being home, and when you are home, you’re worrying about tests and papers. You’re already swamped with that stuff, Abigail. Money isn’t worth killing yourself, even for just a year. What happened to Mom could happen to anyone…just like that!” She snapped her fingers.
“But your mother was fifty-eight years old.”
“That’s not the point I’m trying to make. All I’m saying is that lives can change in the blink of an eye, and we need to enjoy the time we have. I don’t want you to have to bury your nose in a book for a whole year. There’s a lot more to living than just making money.”
“But we’re stressed all the time, Jackie! There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t feel a pinch somewhere. Either my car won’t start…or another bill comes. Don’t you get tired of that?”
“Yes, and that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Somehow, we’ve made the almighty dollar the center our lives. That’s what we have to change. What’s really important to me”—Jackie tapped her chest and got down on one knee in front of Abigail—“is how I feel about you.”
Abigail could feel her hopes about going back to school slipping away, but she was oddly calmed by Jackie’s perspective.
“Here’s what I think we should do,” Jackie continued. “I promised Oscar I’d be there tomorrow, but starting next week, I’m not going in anymore on Mondays. That’s supposed to be my day off. Instead, I’m going to stay home and do cleaning, go to the laundry mat and grocery…all that stuff you usually do on Saturday.”
&nbs
p; “What—” Abigail’s head filled with a dozen images, most of them comical.
“Which means that you have all day Saturday while I’m at the shelter to work on your school stuff, and we have Sunday to be together.”
Abigail smiled, her heart swelling with love for her well-meaning partner. “Honey”—she shook her head—“you’re so sweet to offer to do all that. And I…”
“And you what?”
She blew out a deep breath, hoping she could find a way to say this without hurting Jackie’s feelings. “You’re really good at a lot of things, honey. You do a great job on the yard, and you can fix just about anything that breaks. But I don’t think it’s such a good idea for you to be in charge of the laundry. We can’t afford—”
“Do you have to start every single sentence with, ‘We can’t afford’?”
“I’m sorry,” Abigail said quietly, not altogether surprised at Jackie’s surge of irritation. It was probably frustration caused by having to spend the whole day by herself. It really was a lot to ask week after week. Maybe Jackie was right about what they needed in their lives—but not about doing the laundry. Maybe they did need to quit worrying about money so much and start enjoying the life they had. Their hard work would pay off one day. “Tell you what, babe. From now on I’ll try to get my school stuff done before Sunday so we can spend the day together.”
Jackie grabbed both of Abigail’s hands with excitement. “We can do so many fun things, like go on picnics or overnight camping trips…or even just stay home and play with our toys.” She arched her arched her eyebrows suggestively and grinned.
Luck of the Irish Page 4