"I can't do this!"
Helena Koenig sat up in bed, pushing John away from her.
"Can't-- What?" he asked confused. "What's wrong, Helena?"
"John, you're going to have to move it," she said, pointing at the puffball sitting on the dresser. John had taken Alex up into the mountains two weeks ago to search for the little animals. They had returned this morning caked with two weeks worth of mud and dust, but triumphant. Emma and Richard had left for the beach with Alan the day before and Alex had practically fallen asleep at the table. John's plans for the evening had been living up to his expectations quite well until Helena pushed him away.
"Why?" confusion yielding to frustration.
Helena shivered and rubbed her arms. "I feel like it's staring at me."
"Helena, it doesn't have any eyes -- at all!"
"I don't care," she said firmly. "John, either put it in the living room and close the door, or roll over and go to sleep now, because nothing is happening in this bedroom with that in here."
John had no problem recognizing an ultimatum from his wife, nor did he hesitate to make a decision. He climbed out of bed and crossed the room to pick up the small round animal. "I thought you liked pets," he grumbled. "You're always telling Alex about all the pets you had growing up."
She smiled. "Not in the bedroom," she said firmly. "It's an old rule." She held out her arms to John and he smiled back and handed her the puffball. The small round animal was like a soft furry basketball, it's gray coloring reminded her of one of her favorite cats. The small animal didn't exactly purr, but there was a pleasurable reaction when she stroked it. She laughed softy, remembering. "Lee had a cat."
John stretched across the foot of the bed. "You never told me that." Helena rarely talked about her first husband, even after nearly twenty-five years.
"It was before we got married," she told him softly, her voice filled with amusement. She continued to stroke the little animal as she spoke. "It wasn't anything like the cats I'd grown up with. They were all barn cats. Sleek, honest working cats that earned their keep. Lee's cat was an evil overweight monstrosity that wouldn't recognize a mouse unless it had been de-boned, skinned and sautéed in the proper herbs and spices.
John reached out and stroked the puffball too. He had known a few cats like that himself.
"He was horribly spoiled and Lee let him go anywhere he wished. The cat and I took an instant dislike to each other. One afternoon a couple of months before we got married we were making love in his bedroom--"
"Before you were married!" John interrupted her. "Helena I'm shocked! I didn't think you were that kind of girl," he said in mock horror.
The look she gave him was a combination of amusement and hot sensuality. "Considering how long our courtship was, I'd think you would approve." She leaned forward barely brushing her lips against his to tease him. She continued, "Anyway, at a particularly --ah-- climactic moment the cat jumped onto the bed and right onto Lee's back."
John winced, while Helena laughed. "It was very distracting. We were both furious-- Lee with the cat and I with him. It was a long time before we found it amusing."
"Well, I can see why you made the 'no pets in the bedroom' rule. What happened to the cat?"
"Lee found it a new home before the wedding. I bought him a puppy as a wedding present. Apollo was never allowed in the bedroom."
Petting the puffball was an interesting experience. It seemed to shiver pleasurably from the attention. John had been fascinated with it from the moment he had touched it back in the cave, and even then he had wanted to share the experience with Helena. Their hands brushed against each other as they stroked the soft fur. The attraction between the two of them was like an electrical connection and it seemed especially strong tonight. Her eyes met his and they shared a smile.
"John?"
"Yes, dear."
"Take the puffball to the living room-- and come back quickly."
John grinned. "With pleasure."
Ellen Lindow
January 26, 1999