The table was set with the best china. Silver candlesticks and a bouquet of fall flowers added color. Robert’s favorites, a small squash casserole and stuffed pork chops were waiting in the oven. Susan paced from the window to the mirror. She liked this new apartment. During the years he was in medical school they had lived in quarters for married students. Their friends were nearby, and it seemed to be very much a continuation of their undergraduate life—with the addition of a double bed.
But when the assignments for internship were handed out, everyone scattered and Susan had found this apartment close to the campus. She could still walk to work when it was nice, or catch a bus at a nearby bus stop. Robert’s assigned hospital was in another part of Chicago, not an area where he intended to let her live. He wasn’t even happy when she came to have dinner with him when he worked late. He said it was too dangerous, so he would take the train on those days and she would drive the car, have dinner with him, then wait for him and he would drive them home.
She checked the mirror again. Her makeup was perfect and her hair was too. She was beginning to get used to her image again, with the short stylish haircut instead of long blonde locks. Robert had been aghast when she came home with the new style, but it did make her look more mature, and he had gotten used to making love to an ‘older woman’ as he put it.
The slam of a car door below brought her to the window again. He had just pulled in to the garage below. Their apartment was a recently refurbished garage apartment and they had use of the garage for the car and storage as well as rights to use the pool in the summer time. The main house was quite grand, and the couple who owned it elderly with grown children and grandchildren. The gentleman was a professor emeritus on campus and a personal friend of her advising professor, Dr. Jackson. Dr. Jackson had recommended them for the apartment. Robert hit it off with the old fellow as well. Both were interested in cars and it was their discussion about cars that had given them a chance to use part of the garage for their own car.
Robert walked up the stairs and Susan opened the door, meeting him on the small deck outside. She noted that he was wearing green scrubs, which usually meant that he had been busy right up until the time he walked out the door. Susan smiled. Something about the lack of a collar and his chest hair peeking out and the thin material always attracted her. She was careful to hide it because he was usually tired, but the sight of those scrubs left her wanting to take him straight to bed.
“Hi, Honey.”
Robert pulled her to him. He smelled of antiseptic soap over Old Spice and his cheek was scratchy. “Hmm, you look good enough to eat.”
“You may trade me in on supper. It’s all ready.”
They walked through the door and Robert sniffed the air. “Pork chops?”
She nodded. He grinned. “Do I have ten minutes for a shower and a shave?”
“Oh yes.” Her heart thumped. A shave in the evening meant he either had tomorrow off, or a late shift, so they would end up with tonight and all day tomorrow together.
“Did Monica call you about a movie? Charlie has this evening and tomorrow morning off too.” He was already stripping off the scrubs on the way to the shower. She wished she could join him, but she had already planned this evening carefully.
“She called me, but there wasn’t really anything we wanted to see. She invited us over to play cards around eight-thirty.”
Robert glanced at the clock over the doorway to the bedroom. “Do we have time? It’s quite a drive.”
“I told her I’d talk to you first. But we have time to eat and decide.”
Charlie’s internship was at a hospital nearly an hour and a half away. They had found an apartment closer to that hospital, about an hour’s drive from Robert and Susan’s apartment.
“All right. I won’t be long.”
“Wine?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he called from the bathroom. “Whatever you’re having.”
Susan returned to the tiny kitchen and poured them each a glass of the wine she had been chilling. They might not go to Monica’s tonight, and Monica knew that. It all depended on what kind of mood Robert was in after she talked to him at dinner. She took a sip of her wine, then set down the glass and crossed her fingers.
Dinner proceeded well. Robert savored the meal and they talked about his day at work. He was fascinated by his work and always eager to share his experiences with her. They talked for hours about just what he wanted to specialize in. He was most fascinated by research and cutting-edge technology, but he wanted some human contact as well. Pharmaceutical research seemed to be where he wanted to be. He wanted to help people, make them well. Doing that one person at a time seemed too slow for him. He wanted to have an effect on more people than that. He had worked off and on for a company ever since the summer of their junior year. They had even granted him a scholarship, which had made it much easier to begin their life together. He maintained his contacts there and kept up with their research. The last time they had seen one of his former supervisors he had assured both of them that there would be a position waiting for Robert if he wanted it.
Susan knew that part of Robert’s drive came from wanting to keep others from watching a loved one suffer the way he had watched his mother. She wished she had known Robert’s mother. Helena Thompson had raised two wonderful, caring young men who were not afraid of working hard and reaching their goal. The pictures Robert and his brother George had shown her revealed her to be a beautiful woman, and the sons she had raised were quite a tribute to her.
As Robert finished the pudding she had cooked for desert he looked around the room. “All right, now what did you buy?”
“What did I buy?”
“Come on, honey. You made my favorite foods, used the best china, you’re all dolled up. Either you’ve spent money we didn’t have or you’re planning to talk me into it.” Robert grinned and his eyes twinkled. Susan got the feeling that he was looking forward to further ‘persuasion’ on her part.
She laughed. “I didn’t buy anything.”
At his raised eyebrow she leaned over and put her hand over his. “Never fear, our budget really is intact, but I did want to talk to you about something.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’m listening. How much is it going to cost?”
“Nothing,” she assured him. “You know I’m taking my comps this term.”
“Of course I do. I’ve been sorting through the questions with you for weeks already.”
Robert had been wonderfully understanding about her wish for a Master’s Degree. One course each term was paid for by her job at the University Museum. She had also been Dr. Jackson’s teaching assistant for a couple of terms, but she really preferred restoration to teaching and Dr. Jackson knew that. Susan’s parents had also paid the tuition for another class or two each semester. She and Robert didn’t really talk about that. Susan considered it her own money and Robert never made any comments. Her closest friends had been happy to finish school. Monica was a consummate housekeeper and wanted to have a bunch of kids. She had never been interested in further education and was happy to keep house for Charlie. Katherine had taught school for the last two years, but was looking forward to giving that up as soon as Ron went into practice for himself. Susan loved her work in the museum and although she did want children, she wasn’t sure she wanted to give that up any time soon.
“Dr. Jackson has asked me…” She crossed her fingers under the table. She wanted this so much! “To delay the comps for a term go on a dig with her. We would be on a small island in the Mediterranean between Turkey and Greece for about two months. I would be in charge of archiving all the finds and getting them ready to ship back. Then, when we return I would be restoring the items I dig up.”
Robert looked at her for a long moment. Their hands were still joined and Susan held her breath. He hadn’t said anything yet and she didn’t know if that was good or bad. She simply looked back at him.
He swallowed and looked down at their hands. “That’s… always been a dream of yours.”
“Yes,” she said faintly. She had no intention of begging his permission to go, but this had to be something they both willingly agreed to.
“What are the dates?” he asked.
Her heart leaped. Kat and Mon had insisted that he would say no. They were certain that their husbands wouldn’t let them wander around the world without them. But Robert understood! She knew he did.
“We would leave in Mid October and be gone until right at the end of the term, in mid December.”
“So soon? I thought these things took time to plan.”
“They do. And she’s been planning this for some time. She was planning to leave me here to finish up her classes and Clara Epstein was going with her, you remember Clara?”
“Her other assistant,” Robert said with a nod. They had met at a few parties and other functions that Dr. Jackson expected her assistants to attend. Clara and Susan couldn’t have been more different and they weren’t exactly friends. Clara appeared to have few social skills and was more at home with a stack of books around her than in a room full of people. Although Susan wasn’t completely comfortable teaching, Robert knew she was quite capable of sharing her enthusiasm for the topic and the students liked her. Clara was just… dull.
“Clara’s mother is ill and Clara has backed out of going. And this is pretty much the last minute. There’s not time to find anyone else. It’s barely a month away.”
“Dr. Jackson must be pretty mad.”
“I’ve never seen her so furious. She was really polite when Clara told her. I was in the office with them. She dismissed Clara quickly and was just livid. I thought she was going to throw things. She paced around the office cursing like a sailor, then she almost ran into me, glared at me and said, ‘I don’t suppose your husband will let you go.’ So I told her I’d discuss it with you.”
“Dr. Jackson has been there before?”
“Oh yes. She goes just about every other year. Usually during a summer term, but she had some personal reasons for going back this term instead. Robbie? You’re so busy right now, working all those hours. I just thought that… maybe… the timing was right. You’ll be on Christmas break around the same time I come home and we could have some time off together.”
She looked down at the table cloth. She didn’t want to leave him behind. But his work was here. “Once we’re more settled, and start having children… I couldn’t consider anything like this.”
Robert stood and moved around the table. He turned her chair and knelt in front of her. “You really want it, don’t you?”
She nodded. Close to tears and not sure why. She wanted to be the best wife anyone could ever have, but she wanted to do this too. She wasn’t sure why she couldn’t do both, but Kat and Mon were sure Robert would forbid it and even Dr. Jackson didn’t seem to believe Robert would let her. She knew better than to even mention this possibility to her parents. They would expect her home for Thanksgiving, and Christmas, with or without Robert. Talking to Robert had made her nervous enough. Her parents would be even more difficult.
He put his hands on her cheeks and pulled her close to kiss her gently. “I’ll miss you. And you know I’m terrible at writing letters. But will you write to me?”
“Every day,” she practically gasped. “I’ll be missing you too.”
“You’re right.” Robert said decisively and with a heartiness that Susan knew was part bravado. “This is the time to do it. I wouldn’t be able to work and take care of a kid or two. But I still remember how to forage for food on my own. You haven’t completely spoiled me yet.”
Susan laughed. “I promise to finish spoiling you when I get home.”
He pulled her onto the floor and into his lap. “I’ll take you up on that.”
“Oh, Robbie. I can’t tell you how happy I am.”
He wiped away a tear on her cheek with his thumb. “Then why are you crying?”
“I’m not sure.” She kissed him passionately. His hands began to move over her body. She responded eagerly. He lay back on the carpet, pulling her on top of him.
She wanted him, right now. The arousal she had felt seeing him in the scrubs roared back full force and she was quickly finding her way inside his slacks. Robert unzipped her dress, his hands moving up and down her bare back, and expertly unhooking her bra.
“Should we move to the bedroom?” Robert whispered in her ear. His breath caused fire throughout her body.
“No!” she gasped urgently.
“All right,” Robert agreed quickly and surrendered to the inevitable.
Robert managed to see Susan off at the airport by working out an elaborate exchange of shifts with three other interns. A mid-October snowstorm was brewing and Dr. Jackson paced at the gate, eager to be away before the airport was closed down. Robert and Susan barely noticed her presence. They were exchanging final kisses and promises to write every day. Both knew how excited Susan was and both knew that she also felt some guilt at leaving her husband behind. Her parents had been no help at all, asking why she, a married woman would want to do such a thing, and especially at the holiday season when they had expected her to be with them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Susan had bravely worked her way through their objections, thankful for Robert’s staunch support.
Susan had begun writing letters to Robert before she left, so there was a letter waiting for him in the mailbox, letting him know how much his support and understanding meant to her. He didn’t really want her to go, but had been unable to tell her that she couldn’t; not knowing how much it meant to her. Besides, when the Millers took a stand against the trip, it certainly made it easier for him to shine by being all for it.
He threw himself into his work, and he did love what he was doing. It was now easier to accept a double shift, or continue studying at the hospital instead of hurrying home to his wife. The best part of the day was opening the mailbox at home and finding another blue airmail envelope with the distinctive red stripes around the edge and Susan’s familiar handwriting.
On Thanksgiving, he was especially thankful for a late dinner at his brother’s apartment after his shift was over. At least he wasn’t in Texas with his disapproving in-laws. That wasn’t anything he wrote to Susan about, but it was the way he felt. His letters to Susan mainly talked about his positive reactions to her new experiences, his own encounters at the hospital, and letting her know that he missed her and was waiting at home to see her soon.
After the dinner George provided they sat looking at the skyline of Chicago drinking cognac.
“When is she coming home?”
“Mid December. Right at the end of the term,” Robert answered.
“And she’s enjoying herself?”
“Oh yes. Hip deep in old pieces of pottery and stuff, sleeping in a tent, staying up late in the night to catalog specimen by kerosene lamp.”
“That’s good,” his brother said thoughtfully. “She’s a good girl. You’re lucky to have found her.”
“Don’t I know it,” Robert said wistfully.
“Then why do you look like you’ve lost your last friend?”
“Because she’s on the other side of the world, dammit, George. What if she gets to like this and does this all the time?”
“She’s too level-headed for that. You know that.”
“Yes, I do. And I know how much she wanted to do this. But I don’t have to like it. At least not when she can’t see me,” he added sheepishly.
“Don’t you get some time off at Christmas?”
“Yeah, right when she gets back. And I know she’s going to want to go to Texas,” Robert sighed. He wanted his wife back, safe in their own little apartment where they had plenty of privacy. Not at her parent’s place where her dad probably had one ear to the wall listening for the sound of creaking bedsprings.
“Why don’t you go visit her there, Rob?”
Robert looked at him sharply. “You’re joking, right? You know what my finances look like.”
George shrugged. He reached into an inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a bulky envelope. “Merry Christmas.” He tossed the envelope into his brother’s lap.
Robert put down the glass he was holding and opened the envelope. There was an airplane ticket to Athens a connecting flight to Crete and a considerable amount of cash.
“George…”
“Come on, Robert. That honeymoon to Padre Island was pathetic. Take her away for a couple of weeks. My treat.”
“Really?” Robert grinned.
“I’d suggest you call Dr. Jackson about getting Susan’s flight changed. She’ll probably help you make it a surprise if you want. She seems like a nice old bird.”
“Most of her students would probably disagree. But she does like Susan and takes good care of her. It’s the main reason I thought Susan should do it. Dr. Jackson has a lot of pull and has made things easier for Sus. For both of us, really. We wouldn’t have that apartment if it weren’t for her.” Robert looked over the packet. “Geo, I don’t know how to thank you…”
“Then just go have fun. And try to work on some nieces and nephews for me to spoil, okay?”
Robert laughed. Their family of two was rather small. And with Susan away it seemed microscopic. He was looking forward to being done with this internship and starting that family. “As soon as my internship is over, we’ll see what we can do about that. But there’s no reason we couldn’t spend Christmas break … practicing.” He grinned.
Everything about Greece seemed different and exotic. Even the sunlight and the sky above seemed to be painted. It was nothing like winter in Chicago. Dr. Jackson met him in Crete at the airport. The dig was already closed down and everyone was due to leave the following day. What Susan didn’t know was that Robert and Dr. Jackson had already conspired to change her plane tickets without her knowledge.
“Robert,” Dr. Jackson’s handshake was firm as she greeted him at the gate.
“Dr. Jackson! I didn’t expect to see you here. I intended to take a taxi to the hotel.”
“I had to bring some things down to be shipped home. Susan was going to do it, but I knew you’d be coming in and…” she smiled, confessing. “I wanted to see the look on her face when she sees you. She talks about you all the time, you know.”
“Does she?” Robert didn’t know that and it left him a little dazed. He knew he was probably guilty of the same thing.
“I want you to know how much I appreciate you letting me borrow her for the last two months.” Dr. Jackson led him to a waiting flatbed truck. A young driver with curly dark hair and a moustache nodded to him and strapped his bag onto the back. Dr. Jackson said something to the man in Greek and he nodded and shook Robert’s hand. A profusion of Greek exploded from him. Robert caught the word ‘Susan’ and looked at Dr. Jackson.
“He’s telling you how much he admires any man who could be married to Susan. She has been an incredible asset at the dig. She knows exactly how to keep everyone working. No one slacks with her around. And they all adore her.”
“So do I,” Robert said, grinning. He knew that when she put her mind to something, Susan could become a little dictator, and everyone around her did what she said or heads would roll. He had already watched her mother organize an engagement party and a wedding and was impressed with the amount of work it took and how Lisa Miller seemed to act as general to her troops. She terrorized them. Susan had the same ability, but managed to make everyone love her in the process.
They pulled into the courtyard of the hotel. It was littered with wooden crates and he caught sight of Susan standing with clipboard in hand, waiting to load the truck again. She wore her ‘ranch uniform’ of denim shorts and a sleeveless white cotton blouse, but today she also wore leather sandals and the blouse was knotted at the waist, leaving a tantalizing view of her midriff. She had an incredible tan and her blonde hair seemed to practically glow from being in the sun. She looked fantastic. She turned her back to the truck as Dr. Jackson and Robert slid from the passenger’s side. Several men began to pick up the crates she indicated and head for the back of the truck.
Dr. Jackson walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll take care of this next load, Susan.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” Susan began to protest, keeping a close eye on the movers.
Dr. Jackson removed the clipboard from her hand. “You have a visitor.” She turned Susan around and watched with amusement. Robert had pulled his bag from the back of the truck and was standing only a few feet away. Susan’s eyes went wide when she recognized him. “Robert?” She grinned with delight and Robert stood still, simply enjoying seeing her smile. “Robert!”
Robert dropped his bag and she leaped into his arms. He held her tightly to him, taking in her sunwarmed scent.
“What… How did you get here?”
“I flew,” he said with a smile. He touched her golden hair gently, glad to see it had grown a little longer while she had been gone.
“But,” she looked back at Dr. Jackson, puzzled. “I’m going home tomorrow.”
Dr. Jackson stepped over to them and pulled an envelope out of her canvas bag. “Actually, we’ve changed your ticket. Robert asked for my help. That’s why I asked for your plane tickets the other day.”
“You mean, you didn’t have to check in at the embassy?”
Dr. Jackson shook her head. She looked at them both and pulled another envelope out of her bag. “Here’s the itinerary you asked for, Robert. I couldn’t get everything in that you asked for, but enough so I think Susan will enjoy it.”
Susan looked puzzled and Dr. Jackson continued. “Robert also asked me to help him decide where the two of you should go over the next two weeks, knowing your interests and what you would want to see. You have two days here on Crete, and you’ll be able to show Robert around. Then you fly to Istanbul and stay with Dr. Issing at the University there. He insisted when he heard you were coming. He’ll personally drive you down to Canakkale where you have reservations for two nights and he’ll show you through the dig at Troy. Robert, he visited our dig last month and was quite impressed with Susan. He’s an older gentleman and has already tried to hire Susan away from me. She would be an asset to anyone’s staff, but I know you’ll make sure she comes home to me,” Dr. Jackson joked.
“That I will,” Robert said with a smile, his arm around Susan’s waist. He certainly didn’t want her working in Turkey.
“Then you’ll fly to Athens,” Dr. Jackson continued, enjoying the look of amazement on her assistant’s face. “I reserved a hotel room there in a little place I think you’ll enjoy. It has a tremendous view of the Parthenon. You shouldn’t really need a guide there. Susan has picked up an amazing amount of Greek, so you should be able to wander about the city with no trouble, and I think she knows what she wants to see there.”
“Do I!” Susan said. She leaned over and hugged her teacher, then hugged Robert. “This is such a surprise!”
“We hoped it would be. Now, why don’t you take Robert up to your room and get him settled in. I don’t expect to see either one of you until tonight at the farewell dinner we’d planned.”
Susan glanced up at Robert and they exchanged grins. Susan took his hand and they headed into the Inn.
Behind Dr. Jackson, she heard one of her workers mutter in Greek. The professor smiled but didn’t respond. Yes, the rest of them probably would have to spend the afternoon ignoring the screams of ecstasy coming from Susan’s room. She knew that half her staff wanted to trade places with Robert. As for herself, if she were twenty-five years younger, she’d be giving Susan a little competition for that handsome young man of hers. Not that he was likely to notice. It was obvious that he had eyes only for Susan.
Three days later, they were flying down a dusty road in a Rolls Royce with Dr. Issing. He sat in the back with them describing the multi-layered ruins that were ancient Troy. The old German archaeologist was enjoying the chance to lecture to a pretty young woman. Robert kept his arm firmly around Susan’s shoulder and was happy to just be close to her. Susan chattered away in German with the old fellow while Robert listened. They had taken German together in college, and Robert had a good reading vocabulary, but Susan had a knack for speaking foreign languages. She was enjoying exercising that knack on this trip and the old professor was obviously charmed.
His house in Istanbul was ancient and rambling and looked more like a museum. He had made them feel quite at home, and the bedroom they had been given looked like something out of the Tales of the Arabian Nights. The bathroom had been as big as their entire apartment, with a sunken tub covered with mosaic tiles. Oh, what they had done in that tub! Robert thought about the tub, squeezing Susan’s shoulder and trying to contain himself.
The morning at the ruins was spent wandering from one set of crumbling stone to another. Susan was fascinated. Robert kept his thoughts to himself and followed the pair around the rocks and shrubs with great patience. Near noon Professor Issing came to a halt and took Susan’s hand.
“My dear,” he said in English. “You have been a wonderfully patient student. And your young husband here is a saint.” He took her hand and kissed it. “Now, you’ve spent enough time indulging an old man. There’s a hamper in the boot of the car with lunch for the two of you. If you follow that path over there, it will lead down to a nice little beach where you can have a private lunch.”
“Oh, won’t you join us?” Susan asked. Robert hoped he would turn her down.
“No, no. Three’s a crowd. You pay some attention to this young man for a while.”
Robert was all for that. He returned to the car and pulled out a large heavy basket. Susan led him down the pathway to the water’s edge. It was a pretty little beach with brilliant blue water. The day was cool, but not cold, and sunny. The hamper contained a wool blanket to spread out, two bottles of wine with glasses and a variety of delicacies. Susan recognized most of the food and enjoyed pointing out her favorites and getting Robert to taste them. They fed each other the various finger foods, sipped wine, then stretched out together in the sunshine.
Robert dozed off, content to hold Susan’s hand and enjoy the day. Susan lay next to him and stared at the sky, marveling that she was on the same beach where Ulysses must have come ashore to help win back the beautiful Helen. She wondered, as she had before, about the mysterious woman whose beauty had not only started a war, but whose memory had lasted through the long centuries. Her husband must have loved her very much. She turned to watch Robert as he slept. She smiled, knowing Robert would move heaven and earth for her, and even start a war if he must.
She looked up and down his body. She had missed him horribly during the past few months. She remembered lying in her cot at night aching for him. She doubted she could ever stay away from him again.
A smile flickered across his features. He must be dreaming. Her eyes moved down to his crotch and she wondered if he was dreaming about her. His hand moved to rub himself through his pants. She licked her lips, noticing his erection. Her own body responded with a tingling from the pit of her stomach to the spot between her legs. She held still and watched as he massaged himself and grew even larger.
Quietly, still watching him, she moved closer and brushed his ear with her tongue, breathing softly into his ear. He moaned softly, still asleep. She reached down and slowly unzipped his fly. Her hand moved inside his pants and boxers. She wanted to see his erection, feel the familiar smoothness of it. She could feel her own growing wetness and knew she didn’t just want to feel it against her hand.
She whispered in his ear as she stroked him. “Robbie, I want you.”
His eyes flickered and he turned to her. “Sus?” He was still half asleep. He grinned, feeling her hand against him. “Susan, you make me feel…” he moaned and reached out for her.
She was glad she had decided to wear a dress today instead of the shorts she usually wore at a dig. She wasn’t working here, but was a guest and she had wanted to make a good impression. Robert’s hand found the back of her thigh and moved up underneath her short skirt.
“You know,” he murmured into her ear. “I wasn’t sure I liked this new skirt of yours when that old fart was looking at your knees in the car.”
“And now?” His hand was now squeezing her buttock and making its way inside her panties.
“I’m becoming a big fan.”
She had purchased the outfit in London on her way over here. She had written to him about the short flared skirt in the black and white houndstooth check. The blouse was white cotton with a wide round collar. Robert was now pulling the blouse from her belted waist. She had on a little black cardigan and a wide red belt. She wanted Robert to pull every stitch of it off of her, but settled for him finding ways under her clothes.
“You would have liked the swimsuits they were selling in the boutiques.”
His hand had loosened her bra and he was pulling it up, away from her breasts. “I’m not really interested in hearing about clothes right now, hon.”
“They were topless.”
He stopped and looked up at her. “You mean, you’re supposed to be on a beach with nothing on top?”
She laughed. His eyes were horrified, but lower down, his body was reacting differently. “Can you imagine a whole beach full of women in topless suits.”
He moaned. “You’d kill me if I looked at something like that.”
“And they had see through shirts. I almost bought one of those.”
He covered her lips with his to stop her and soon they were mutually engaged in getting her panties off and him inside her.
Oh, it felt so good!
“Love me, Robbie,” She commanded. His lips were against her neck and he slipped inside her and out again, making sure to move against her clit with every thrust. She moaned. “Harder,” she urged.
He pulled out and plunged in again and again, wanting to take her and make her his own again, still not over being apart from her. The pressure built up until he seemed to explode, releasing with a roar. She clung to him, trembling with her own orgasm. “Oh, Robbie!” she sighed.
He nuzzled her neck and she clung to him.
“You’d only wear it for me, right?” he whispered in her ear.
“What?”
“The topless shirt.”
Susan laughed. “Should I get one when we go through London again? And maybe a pair of hotpants?”
He patted her bottom again. “You’re pants are always hot, woman.”
Susan felt a warm glow spread through her again. She loved it when he called her ‘woman’. She pulled him to her, wanting him all over again.
It was late afternoon before they returned to the carpark at the edge of the dig. Robert carried the picnic basket and they walked hand in hand.
The driver nodded to them and opened the trunk. He explained in hesitant German that he would let Dr. Issing know they had returned.
Susan turned and looked back over the piles of rocks one last time. Robert still didn’t know what she saw in all those ruins, but the way she took his hand and squeezed it, he knew she was pleased with him, and that was all that mattered to him.
Their time in Turkey and Greece passed magically. They were in London on Christmas day and she took him to some little shops where she and Dr. Jackson had been a few months before. He was unimpressed with the topless swimsuit, but quickly purchased one of the see-through tops for her, black hot pants and white go-go boots. She wore the boots with the new skirt and blouse when they went out dancing that night and then she modeled the see-through shirt and hotpants when they got back to their hotel. Sleep was not on the agenda.
On Boxing Day they made their way to Heathrow and slept most of the way across the Atlantic, waking occasionally to exchange smiles.
Returning to Chicago was returning to their busy lives. Susan’s parents sent her a plane ticket to visit them over New Years before school started again. Although she didn’t want to leave Robert again, he insisted that she go. She would be taking comps this term as well as working with the items she had packed and sent back from the dig. It would be better for her to go now.
Robert returned to his internship. Susan came home from Texas and plunged into her job. She had no teaching obligations this term and her duties thrilled and fascinated her. It was mid January before she even noticed that something was amiss and part of her routine had not returned.
When she left for Greece she decided to save a bit of money and not fill her birth control prescription. She wouldn’t need them while she was so far away from Robert anyway. He showed up so unexpectedly and she had missed him so badly that birth control measures were the furthest thing from her mind. They were in an exotic location and her daily routine was so far from their normal life in their quiet little apartment in Chicago that she didn’t even miss taking the pill every day.
She felt wonderful. She hadn’t been sick at all. Her breasts had seemed a bit tender. In fact, it was her breasts that clued her in to her condition. Robert was the one to notice that her bra seemed a bit tighter and her breasts seemed a bit firmer. He had mentioned it one Sunday morning in bed as she sat atop him, his hands massaging her, fingers playing with her nipples. When he told her they looked bigger than usual it all came clear to her and she knew without a doubt she was pregnant. She waited until the beginning of February before going to the campus clinic.
They performed the test, congratulated her and sent her home with a pamphlet and a big bottle of vitamins. She was stunned. How could she had been so stupid? Although she knew quite well that everyone in the family was waiting for her to have children, and neither her parents nor George would spare any expense to make sure they were well taken care of, she also knew that Robert wanted to be the one to provide for their baby. She wasn’t sure how he would react.
On Valentine’s Day they had planned to go dancing with Charlie and Monica. She hadn’t breathed a word of this to anyone. Not even Monica, or Katherine, who was living in Des Moines with Ron during his internship.
She was pleasantly tired when they returned home and just slightly drunk. They had been drinking rum and coke all evening. Robert unlocked the door of their apartment and waltzed her into the living room. The glow of alcohol enveloped him as well. He hummed in her ear and unzipped her miniskirt.
It was time to tell him. She backed up slightly, took his hand and led him to the sofa.
“Robbie, there’s something I’ve got to tell you.”
“Sus, whatever it is, it can wait just a little while,” he sat beside her and began to nibble at her neck just below her ear, his hand wandering to her breast.
“I need to tell you, right now.”
“What?” he sat back, slightly irritated.
She took his hand and kissed it. “Robbie. Remember when we were on vacation?”
“Mmmm, yeah.” He leaned forward and kissed her.
“Robbie. I wasn’t taking my pills while I was over there.”
He sat back again. “What?” The information sank in and he sobered up.
“I didn’t expect you. I thought I could start taking them again when I got home.” She looked down. “Then I forgot.”
“Susan? Are you…”
“I’m going to have a baby.” She held onto both of his hands and searched his face for a reaction. “We’d been so careful. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? Honey? Sorry that you’re pregnant?” Robert looked confused. He was looking her over like she were a specimen in a jar. His hands moved from hers to her belly.
“Not… that I’m pregnant. Just that I got pregnant.” She said. “We had planned to wait at least another year…”
“Oh, honey.” He pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay.” She could hear his heart thumping faster. “We’ll manage.” He kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear. “We’re going to have a baby!” She could hear the excitement in his voice.
His hand moved back to her stomach. He rubbed her belly. “Are you sure?”
“I went to the clinic. They ran tests.”
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “They said I should find an obstetrician.”
“We’ll find you the best. We’ve got to keep you healthy.” His hands moved worshipfully over her body. He slid off the sofa and knelt in front of her. He pressed his face against her stomach. “Our baby is in there!”
She ran her hands through his thick hair and leaned over him. “Our baby,” she confirmed.
He ran his hand up and down her thigh. “Susan. I love you so!”
She laughed, so pleased with his reaction.
He took her to bed, removed her clothes and made love to her gently and passionately. Later, she lay contentedly in his arms. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if she were conceived when we were at Troy?”
“She?”
“I’m just sure it’s a girl. I want to name her after your mother.”
“Helena. And conceived at Troy,” Robert chuckled. His mother would like that. “Won’t your mother have something to say about that?”
“Perhaps we could give her my mother’s name as a middle name.”
“Helena Melissa Thompson.” Robert tried out the name. He leaned over Susan and whispered into her belly button. “And what do you think of that, little Jelly Bean.” He looked up at Susan and winked. “Right now, she’s no bigger than that, you know.”
Susan nodded and smiled. “I think it’s a lovely name.”
“Our little Jelly Bean might be a boy, you know,” he teased, lying back beside her. “If so will we name him Ulysees? Paris?”
“Priam? Achilles?”
Robert laughed. “We might want to think up something more American or he’ll end up with a lot of black eyes.”
Susan smiled. “I suppose you’re right. But I’m sure your little Jelly Bean is Helena Melissa.” She paused. “Robert? Can we afford this?”
“We’ll manage. Don’t worry about that. Just keep our little Jelly Bean safe.”
