by Silke Ming
“Millie,” said a stern Seamus, “you are coming home with us. We have something to clear up.”
“Summer,” shouted Millie.
“He’s right,” said Summer. “He wants to know where his mother is going.”
* * * *
“So, Millie,” said Seamus, “what is this all about?”
Millie found the nearest chair and sat down.
“I have found my son,” she began. “I am a very happy woman. Now that he has found a wife, it makes me even happier. I feel that my life is complete.”
“Your life has only just begun,” said Summer.
“You are beating around the bush, Mother,” said Seamus in a raised voice.
“You called me Mother,” said the woman.
“Well isn’t that what you are?”
“When I left the convent to search for you, I knew that once that was fulfilled, I would return to live with the sisters.”
“What?” asked an annoyed Seamus. “What are you saying?”
“I am moving back to the convent, but this time, I am joining the order of the nuns of St. Augustine.”
“You left me when I most needed you, and now you are walking out of our lives again. Talk to her, Summer,” he said, heading up the stairs.
“Are you really going to leave us?” Summer asked.
“Yes, Summer. I know that my son is in good hands. I know he will be happy with you in his life. You must not forget that I have lived a very solitary life for the past twenty-five years. I have grown used to living that way, and I have devoted my life to helping those less fortunate.”
“What about us?” Summer asked.
“You will have a very happy life. I’m sure about that. You’ve got youth on our side, and I will offer up prayers for you every day.”
“I’m sorry to hear that you’re leaving. You are not only Seamus’s mother, but you treated me like your own daughter.”
“Take care of each other,” said Millie, holding her hands. “Remember, I will only be a couple miles away. When you pass by the convent, you will know that I am behind those walls.”
“So has it all been arranged?”
“Yes, I must be at the gate by eight thirty in the morning of the twentieth of December.”
“Couldn’t you wait until after Christmas?” Summer asked.
“That would make it even more difficult,” she said. “I want to be on the inside before the real festivities begin.”
They both heard the telephone ring and then stop. They both knew Seamus had picked it up.
“Say good-bye to him,” Millie said. “I will see you tomorrow morning. Remind my son that we have an appointment with the lawyer at nine o’ clock. Tell him if he doesn’t show up, I will go in alone.”
Much to his disappointment, Millie had already left when he returned.
“She said she had a few things to sort out. She also asked me to remind you about the lawyer’s appointment tomorrow morning.”
He seemed frustrated and sat down with a heavy sigh.
“I can’t believe she is actually leaving me again,” he said.
“She is seeking her own happiness, Seamus.”
“I know, but it still doesn’t make it any easier.” He raised his feet to the coffee table and stared at her.
“She won’t be far away.”
“Summer, I’m really sorry. This is our wedding day, but I don’t feel like celebrating.”
“You’ll feel better tomorrow. Once the initial shock is over, you will find that it will become easier.”
“Come to me,” he said, opening his arms. “I really love you. When this is all over, we will go back to Tahiti for our honeymoon. Would you like that?”
“Of course I would. It doesn’t matter where we go, as long as we are together.”
“By the way, that was Fred Podesta who called earlier. I told him that we were married today.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he was happy for us. He also said that he and Lana have reconciled their marriage.”
“How did that happen?”
“Apparently their friends have all deserted them when they most needed them. He told me about the blackmail threats and about the reporter who was arrested for trespassing. He was caught twice looking into Lana’s bedroom window.”
“He deserves some happiness, although I’m not sure if she can give it to him,” she replied.
“Fred asked if we could put the past behind us and become friends again.”
“That’s not possible, Seamus. I just don’t trust that woman, or Fred for that matter.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“What are you reading?” he asked, emerging from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“A book that I’ve been trying to read for the last three months. I ought to just give up,” she said.
“It can’t be that exciting if it’s taking you that long to read it.”
He sat down on the bed next to her, and she closed her book and gazed at him.
“It has been a trying day for you, hasn’t it?” she asked, rubbing her fingers up and down his arm.
“Yes, it has been quite a day. The highlight and saving grace of today was our marriage.”
She stared into his face and listened to him.
“I know this isn’t what you expected on your wedding day. A wedding day should be a memorable occasion. I won’t say I’m sorry, because I made you a promise I would never say it again, but I know I have disappointed you.”
“Yes, I expected more, but under the circumstances, there was nothing more that you could do.”
“I will make it up to you. I promise,” he said, lying on his back, his hands under his head as he stared at the ceiling.
She turned on her side and looked at him.
“Millie is doing with her life what is important for her. Look at the positive side. She seems quite happy. I think her only wish was to see you and know that you are happy.”
The ringing of the telephone interrupted their conversation. Toby was on the line. He was curious about the Millie story, and Seamus nodded when she mouthed the words, “do you mind if I tell him?”
He threw his towel on to the chair in the corner and stretched out again beside her, naked. He turned to face her as she continued her conversation. Opening her robe, he ran his fingers along her body, while she ran her fingers through his unruly hair.
“Say hello to Josh. We’ll get together after Christmas,” she said.
She hung up the phone and watched him as he continued the exploratory journey along her body. Although she was tired, her body responded to his touch.
“I love you, Summer Balsam,” he said, smiling at her.
“You are the first to call me that.”
“No I’m not. Toby called you that earlier. Anyway, get used to it,” he said. “After all, we now belong to each other.”
He kissed her gently and moved lower down the bed and parted her thighs. The blood rushed through her veins, making her dizzy. As he ran his fingers along the inside of her thighs, he moaned. He gazed into her eyes and she into his.
“I will love you forever,” he said, continuing to gently massage her inner thighs.
“Are you sure about that, Seamus?”
“I have never been more sure of anything,” he said, his focus on the sweetness between her thighs.
“Beautiful,” he said in a husky voice. “Do you know how beautiful you are?”
Although he hadn’t yet touched her, her body was responding to his gaze.
“When you come, I love to hear the noises you make, and I love the way you hold me deep inside you. I want to watch you come, Summer.”
“You are in a sentimental mood,” she whispered.
“I wouldn’t call it that,” he said, brushing his fingertip across her clitoris, causing her hips to sway.
He opened her lips with his thumb and forefinger and watched as her clitoris unfolded and bobbed up, stand
ing erect. He ran his finger up and down her valleys and over the top of her pulsing clit. Her body responded with jerking movements as her womb clenched with each touch. Moving his finger down, he circled her entrance and she moaned. Her legs widened and she stared at him. His finger entered her, but only to the first joint.
“Please,” she begged.
“Impatient, aren’t we, Summer?”
He sunk his finger deeper and deeper as her hips rose to meet it. He withdrew it and ran it over her swollen clit. It flicked back and forth, like soft satin across her sweetness. He kept moistening his finger by inserting it inside her and then stroking her swollen clitoris. He gazed intently on her lips and opened them again, staring, as if he were reading the pages of a book. Both thumbs stroked her and the passion overtook her feverish body.
“Do you like it?” he whispered.
“Yes, but I want you inside me.”
“Not yet. I want to see what happens to your pussy when you come.”
She could feel his hardness as he rubbed his manhood against her leg. She could only stare longingly at him as he continued his investigation, gaping into her sweetness. Her clitoris, raised to a full erection, excited him.
“Oh my God,” he said in a husky voice, “this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Settling on his elbows, his fingers continued to tease her, moving up and down the full length of her mouth-watering goodness. He again moved his middle finger down to her entrance and slowly circled the opening, and she cried out as if in pain. He inserted the tip into her and her body stiffened, for such was the arousal. A little more until he was in, up to the second joint. Her body bucked and she grabbed a handful of his hair.
“Seamus,” she said softly.
“Tell me.”
“You are torturing me,” she said, rubbing her foot against his erection.
“I would never do that to you,” he replied.
“But you are. Finish me, Seamus.”
“Soon,” he said as his finger completely disappeared.
She felt the void as he slowly withdrew it, and her hips gyrated when he inserted it into her again. He removed it once more and this time, worked two fingers deeply inside her. Her entrance closed tightly, like a tight flower bud, pulling them in deeper. The beautiful sight caused his body to shudder and he stroked himself, pulling his cock to its full length.
“Please,” she begged.
“Soon, Summer, soon,” he gasped. “I want to watch you come.”
He ran his creamy, slippery fingers around and around on her clitoris. She had reached the breaking point, and with a cry of surrender, her body broke into spasms as he carried on stroking her.
“That was breathtaking,” he said, running his fingers up and down her full length.
One more insertion with his fingers and her body shattered.
“Now I’m going to fuck you,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Can you come again?”
There were no words as his thick cock circled her entrance, teasing her and waiting it seemed, to be invited in. Slowly he worked himself into her, inch by inch until only his balls were visible. He remained still for a moment deep inside her, then slowly withdrew his moistened cock and pounded it deeply back into her, moving in and out in with frenzied movements.
“You are so tight,” he said, thrusting even deeper.
Passion trickled down every inch of his spine and he felt the storm winds brewing in his loins. All he could think of at that moment was the fire which was consuming his body. He withdrew his cock one more time and fondled it while he pleasured her with two fingers.
“Please, Seamus,” she shouted.
“Yes. I know,” he said, thrusting back into her.
“I’m coming,” she called out.
“Yes, come with me,” he said, lifting one leg onto his shoulder and pumping her furiously.
She clung tightly to him and was lost in a flood of passion and pleasure. His body jerked uncontrollably, and she felt his warm juices spurting into her and coating her sensitive walls. Spasm after spasm overtook his body and he flopped on top of her, totally exhausted. They lay panting and holding each other, until he slipped out and rolled over beside her.
“That was what I thought my honeymoon would be like,” he said, turning and affectionately touching her face.
“I thought you wanted to kill me,” she said with a smile.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” he said. “Just looking at you, the fire started to burn inside me, and I lost control.”
“I loved it.”
“You did?” he asked.
“You were not very gentle tonight.”
“And you liked it?” he asked, surprise all over his face.
“I loved it.”
“Hmm!” he said, staring into her face. “I want to paint you.”
“You have already painted me.”
“I want to paint this,” he said, running his finger between her thighs.”
“As long as you don’t sell it to Liam O’Shea,” she said, closing her eyes and caressing his face.
“He would like nothing better, the pervert. I must call him and tell him about our marriage.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The following morning, he was up bright and early. He had an appointment with Millie and the family lawyer.
“I should be back around midday,” he said, hugging her.
“Don’t make Millie feel guilty about anything. This is what she wants.”
“Women can be strange such creatures.”
“Watch your words, Mr. Balsam.”
“You, my wife, are the exception. I love you. I can’t wait to get back to you,” he said, walking back to her and kissing her passionately.
* * * *
The total sum of Millie O’Reilly’s savings was two hundred and thirty-two thousand dollars, all of which she bequeathed to her son, amid his protests.
“I can’t take anything in with me,” she said. “All worldly possessions are to be left on the outside.”
The lawyer looked from the mother to son, and the concern he felt for them both registered on his face, but he did not voice his opinion. Millie rose from the chair, thanked him, and headed for the door. Seamus could only raise his shoulders and follow her.
* * * *
“So you are leaving us without a housekeeper, Mother. Had you stayed, I would’ve had to find one anyway.”
She stared at him.
“You have called me Mother again. It makes me happy. I will leave knowing that you still love me and care for me.”
“Of course I love you, Mother. I only wish that you wouldn’t leave me so soon.”
“It would only prolong the pain if I stayed around my son. There is a woman who loves you and cares deeply for you. I have only one request, Seamus.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t be like your father. Cherish Summer. Cherish her.”
“I intend to do that. What are you going to do now?”
“I must clean up my little apartment and dispose of a few things.”
“Would you mind if I came along with you?”
She hesitated and then allowed him to accompany her. He was shocked at the size of the place Millie called home. It was the tiniest apartment he had ever seen.
“There is no room to move around,” he said, his eyes searching every corner.
“It was big enough for me. I have lived here for four and a half years.”
Most of the furniture had already been taken, except for a small bed pushed into a corner.
“Is this all that’s left?”
“I have already given away most of everything,” she said, picking up two envelopes and walking toward him. “This one is for Summer, and this is for you. I want you to know how much I was thinking about you, even though you didn’t know it. Open it on Thursday morning after I am behind the convent walls.”
“I’ll do that. What are you going to do with the pickup truck?”
>
“I’ve given it to someone I would like Summer to meet. Unfortunately we can’t meet at twelve tomorrow. Tell her if it’s all right, I would like to make it at twelve thirty instead.”
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem. I’ll pass the information on to her.”
“You can join us if you want,” she said.
“I’m sure you would prefer to speak to her alone. I know how women think.”
“Then you’d better put it to good use,” said the sharp-tongued Millie.
“Millie, why don’t you spend the remaining three days with us?”
“No, my son,” she said. “It would make the separation too difficult for everyone concerned.”
“Then can we take you to the convent on Thursday morning?”
She paused before she said they could.
“Now hurry along home to Summer. I will see you both tomorrow.”
* * * *
On the way home, he decided he wanted to get away from Whitney and the cold weather. Millie’s entering the convent had put a damper on his life. He immediately drove to the travel agency and booked a four week holiday. One week in Bora Bora and three weeks in Tahiti. At least they would have something to look forward to. Something that would take his mind away from his loss over the Christmas season.
“What have you got there?” asked Summer.
“This is from Millie for you, and this is my surprise for you. Be right back,” he said.
She opened the envelope with the tickets and was delighted about their South Pacific trip. She then opened the second envelope from Millie. Inside was the strand of pearls he had given Millie for her birthday. Inside the last envelope were newspaper clippings and photos of Seamus from his teenage years until the present time.
“You opened that one!” he said to her.
“Yes, there are many photos of you in here.”
“I promised Millie I wouldn’t open it until she was inside the convent.”
“I didn’t realize it. I’m really sorry, Seamus.”