Lots of Love

Monday was an uneventful day at work. By the time lunchtime had rolled around, bringing a cab-ful of Samboras, Jen was more than ready to leave with them. She stuck out the day, however, like a good worker bee, and arrived home with a case full of folders and papers, ready for the rest of the week.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Ava and Joan were out on the grounds feeding the ducks at the pond, and Jen was taking a break, snuggled with Rich in the living room, and logged onto the board. The first post she read made her gasp. “Holy shit, look what Jon is doing.”

One of the women on the board had asked what a male orgasm felt like and Jon answered in graphic detail.

It starts with a tingling in your thighs. It's electric. If it's a really really good one, your toes will curl...you won't be able to stop them. Then your muscles tighten, and tense. It's like a massage from the inside out. Yeah! That's the best way to describe it!

Richie was laughing outright at Jon’s description.

Let me try this another way.

Have you ever tried to squeeze all the blood out of your arm? Then let it rush back in? Try it sometime...not the actual feeling...but the sensation...that's it. You feel it not just in your groin but in your head. You get light headed,....it really does feel like the top's gonna come off your head…if it's a really good one.

The girls got bolder, and asked him what it was like to go down on a woman, and damned if Jon didn’t answer. Graphically.

That's a tough one to describe. Mostly, because that's another one of those things that you, being a woman, might not be able to picture and get what I mean. But I'll try....

There's a certain sense of triumph when a woman opens herself to you like that. There's got to be a certain element of trust there, ya know? She's trusting you to keep her safe while she loses control. You've got to hold on and keep your mind in the game, but it's hard to do sometimes. There's a reason the French call an orgasm 'the little death'. I get a thrill knowing I can send her flying into the stratosphere with just my tongue and fingers.

Oh, and I gotta admit, I like a little bit of fur. Neatly trimmed. I like when it tickles my nose.

“God,” Jen said, laughing. “I so want to out Jon on this board. Could you imagine what everyone would do if they knew who they were talking to? They’d freaking DIE.”

“You’re mean,” Richie said, laughing. “ But, I’d do it in a heartbeat if Jon wouldn’t kill me. Ooh, look at what they’re asking now.”

Jen rolled her eyes. “Damn, what the hell are they trying to do? It’s a damned good thing this is an 18 and over board.” The question was,

So, are blow job orgasms are better than sex orgasms??

Jon was going on with yet another full-blown graphic description, and the girls were being thick. On purpose, she’d bet. “Christ, even I know what he’s talking about,” Jen said, blushing. “Even though I so didn’t need to know that information about him.”

She typed furiously for a minute, Richie hanging over her shoulder.

I think he means they're different kinds of good. Kinda like the difference between getting slammed by a gloriously thick cock so hard he feels like he's poking your womb, and being lapped at by a clever tongue so gently and tenderly you think you're gonna lose your mind...

“Damn, babe. You’re making me hard.” Jennifer rubbed Richie’s growing erection, loving the way it felt sliding under her palm.

“What?” Jen said. “It’s true. Look,” she said, pointing at the screen. “Even Jon thinks so. This is so fucking weird.”

He watched Jennifer type some more, and laughed. “Do you really need a ‘whore’s bath’ after that little exchange?”

Jennifer laughed and checked her watch. “No,” she said, “that was just to keep up with the game. But, if YOU were to describe those things to me well, I’d need more than a whore’s bath to be ready to face...”

“Face what?” Richie asked.

“Jennifer!” her mother called from the kitchen. “We’re here! Joan and Ava found us, and we’re making dinner.”

Richie looked at Jennifer, surprised. “Told you I wasn’t going to tell you the next time my family was descending. How’s your lap?”

“Shriveling,” Richie said, making Jennifer laugh.

Arms around each other’s waists, Richie helped Jennifer limp up the hall. They hit the entryway just as a little voice called out “Auntie Jen! Where are you?”

“Right here, bean,” Jennifer called out, and stooped over to hug her niece. “Oooh, I missed you,” she said, hugging the little girl close. Joanna wrapped her legs around Jennifer’s waist, and Jen hoisted the little girl onto her hip with a groan.

“You alright, babe?” Richie asked, putting a gentle hand on her back.

“Fine, sweetie,” she said, and tipped her head back for a kiss.

Joanna studied Richie. “I remember you, you were at Grandma’s house.” She studied Riche’s face. “You kissed Auntie Jen.”

Richie laughed and tapped a fingertip on the end of her nose. “I sure did,” he said.

Jennifer put her niece down and greeted her brother and sister-in-law. “Hey guys,” she said. “C’mon in.” She led them to the living room, and had everyone sit down. “MA!” she yelled really loudly, making Joanna laugh. “THE TALL KID IS HERE!”

“For heaven’s sake, you don’t have to yell,” Ma shouted back.

“Well,” Jennifer said, “the doctor said to stay off my knee, so I didn’t want to come ALL the way into the kitchen.”

“Lazy bi— uh, bum,” her brother said, casting a wary eye on his daughter, the parrot. At a dollar a swear, so far this summer Joanna had collected nearly fifty dollars from her father.

“Hello,” Richie’s mother said, as she came out of the kitchen. “I’m Richard’s mother, Joan,” she said, introducing herself to Jennifer’s brother and his family.

“I thought you and Ava were outside?” Richie asked.

“We were, until we heard the car pull up. Jennifer told us her family was coming over today.” She smiled wryly at her son. “Didn’t she let you know?”

“Richard,” Ma said, coming out to say hello to her son. “Ava’s in the kitchen with my husband, finishing the salad.”

Richie wandered off to the kitchen, shaking his head. He wanted to bring Ava out to meet the rest of Jennifer’s family. “Hey Angel,” Richie said to his daughter as he went into the kitchen. “How’s it going?”

“Fine, daddy,” Ava answered, carefully tearing lettuce into little pieces. “I like Ma and John. They’re nice.”

“Jennifer’s brother and wife and niece are here, do you want to come say hi?” Ava shook her head. “What’s wrong, baby?” Richie asked, pulling his daughter into his arms and lifting her up to sit on the counter. John discreetly left the two alone and went to greet his son.

Ava was quiet for a minute. “Ma was telling me about their huge family with all the cousins and aunts and uncles and Jennifer’s got her brother and niece and,” she sniffed. “Does she have room for me?”

Richie was surprised. “Did Jennifer make you feel like she doesn’t?” He was going to have serious words with the woman if she had.

Ava shook her head. “No, daddy, she has been super nice to me. But she already has so many people to love, is there enough left over for me?”

“Of course there is,” Richie said. “She has a lot of love in her to give.” He scooped his daughter up and sat on a kitchen chair, cuddling her into his chest. That’s where Jennifer found them.

“Here you are,” she said, smiling. “The house isn’t THAT big that you forgot how to get to the living room, is it? I can leave a trail of bread crumbs – what’s wrong?”

Ava looked up at Jennifer, and saw actual concern in her face, not the fake stuff that some ladies showed just to make her daddy think they liked her. “Nothing,” she said softly.

Richie shook his head, letting Jennifer know there was something wrong, but he’d talk to her about it later. “Are you sure, sweetie? Did Ma make you upset? We can shove her in the fireplace if she did.”

That made Ava laugh. “No, Ma is cool.” She was quiet for a minute. “She said you have six sets of aunts and uncles, and fifteen cousins and some of your cousins have kids.”

Jennifer nodded. “Yep, my mom is one of seven kids, and my grandmother is one of eleven, so Ma had ten sets of aunts and uncles, and THEY all have kids and grand kids and some of them have great-grandkids.” She laughed. “Nanna’s grandkids, me and my brother and my cousins, planned an 85th birthday party for her. We invited every family member we could find. We had more than a hundred and fifty people. There are a whole lot of us Petruzzo’s running around.”

“And you know every single one of them?” Ava asked.

Jennifer had no idea where this was going. “Some of them I hadn’t met until the day of the party. But, I know them all now, well the ones who came to the party anyway, and love every single one of them.”

“That’s a lot.”

“A lot of what? People to love?” Jennifer asked, and Ava nodded. “It is, I guess, but it isn’t even everyone. I mean of course I love my family, but I love my friends and their families too, and I know a LOT of people.” She laughed.

“And you love Daddy,” Ava said.

“Yep, and you and your grandma Joan too,” Jennifer said.

Ava’s eyes went wide. “You do?”

“Of course I do! Oh, unless that makes you feel uncomfortable, then I guess I can try to stop,” Jen answered.

Ava wriggled down off her father’s lap and crossed to Jennifer. She gave the woman a gentle hug. “No, that’s okay. I don’t mind. Can I meet your niece now?”

Jennifer stroked Ava’s hair and met Richie’s eyes over his daughter’s head, a question in them. Richie just nodded and smiled and mouthed, “later” and Jennifer took Ava’s hand and led her out to the other room.

The two girls hit it off right away, though Ava was nearly six years older. She helped Joanna set the table, then the two girls ran around the house playing some game that only they knew. Dinner was a loud and boisterous affair, with Ma and Joan telling stories about their respective children, and lots of laughter. They demolished the better part of two trays of lasagna and two loaves of garlic bread.

After the girls were excused, the women chatted at one end of the table, while Richie and the Johns talked football. Jennifer thought it would come to blows when they started talking about the most recent SuperBowl. They got themselves under control, but not before Joanna made fifteen dollars that night.

Jennifer’s parents left after dessert, and Joan excused herself to go upstairs and watch a show she liked. Jennifer and Sue were in the kitchen with the girls, who were playing a game at the table. The men were in the living room, talking shop. Richie was surprised that Jennifer’s brother knew so much about different instruments and musical arrangements, and enjoyed talking with him. “Man, we should jam together some time. You know, just mess around.”

John’s eyes went wide. “Really?” he asked. “That would be cool. How long you here for?”

Richie shrugged. “That depends on your sister, I guess,” he said. “I’ll stay until she gets sick of me, or until I need to take Ava back to her mother’s.”

John considered the man across from him. “You know that if you hurt her, Dad and I will kill you, right?”

Richie nodded somberly. “I know,” he said. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on hurting your sister. I love her.”

“John, leave him alone,” Jennifer said, coming back into the living room. “You are the younger brother, dear, and I can take care of myself.”

John smiled and stood to buss her sister’s cheek. “Someone has to look out for you,” he said. “You typically make shitty decisions when it comes to men.” He winked at Richie. “This one seems okay though.” He went into the kitchen to collect the rest of his family. Jennifer just shook her head.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “The men in my family are protective of their women.”

“So I gathered,” Richie answered. “So about earlier...”

“Yeah, what happened? Did I do something to upset Ava?” Jennifer crossed the room slowly, and sat on Richie’s lap.

Richie shook his head. “No, she was just concerned when your mother was talking about what a big family you have that you wouldn’t have room in your heart for her.”

Jennifer got tears in her eyes. “Oh that poor child,” she said. “Of course there’s room in my heart for her.”

“You handled it perfectly, though you didn’t know what you were handling.” He kissed her tenderly.

“Jeez, guys, there are kids in the room,” John said, and the girls giggled. “We’re gonna take off. Gotta get the monster to bed.”

“I’m not a monster,” Joanna said. “I’m a girl.”

“Bye, guys,” Jennifer said, not leaving the comfort of Richie’s lap. Joanna ran over for hugs and kisses from her aunt then looked at Richie.

“Bye, Uncle Richie,” she said, and kissed his cheek. Then she ran over to Ava. “Are you my cousin now?” she asked, as she hugged the girl. “I always wanted a girl cousin. Uncle Greg and Uncle Matt have all boys.”

Ava smiled. “I don’t think I’m officially your cousin, but we can pretend.”

“Okay,” Joanna said happily.

The adults exchanged hugs and kisses, and Jennifer’s family left. “Well,” she said to Ava, “what did you think of my family?”

“They were fun. I really like Joanna, and your brother is funny, like Uncle David.”

“They liked you too, Joanna-bean especially,” Jennifer said.

“Why do you call her bean?” Ava asked.

Jennifer laughed. “The very first picture I ever saw of her was a sonogram, and she looked like little kidney bean, so I nicknamed her ‘bean’. Guess it just stuck.”

“What did you think I looked like when you saw me?”

Jennifer smiled. “A beautiful, golden flower. You’re so tall, and your hair is like molten gold,” she said, sifting it through her fingers. “I think you look like a beautiful Sundrop. Should I call you that?”

Ava smiled. “That would be cool. I’m going to go upstairs and see what Grandma is doing.”

“Ok, Sundrop,” Jennifer said, smiling. She and Richie watched the girl run up the stairs.

“Thank you,” Richie said.

“For what?” Jennifer asked.

“For making her feel like she’s part of your family. She hasn’t had the best couple of years.”

“Rich, you don’t have to thank me for that. She’s a wonderful little girl, and for as long as you’re part of my life, she’s part of my family.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I was so nervous about meeting her. She’s a dream.” Jennifer yawned widely. “Speaking of dreams, I need to go make some. I’m exhausted.”

“I’m not tired yet; I’ll walk you up, but I’m gonna stay up for a while.” He scooped Jennifer up and carried her upstairs. He’s been keeping his promise of always carrying her to bed, and Jennifer giggled the whole way. Richie deposited her gently on the bed, and kissed her thoroughly.

“Your eyes are closing, baby,” he said gently. “Go to bed. I’ll be in later.”

“Okay, sweetheart. I love you.”

“Love you too.”