Farmhouse

"And...I find you incredibly attractive, Lori. You're the first and only woman I've felt this way about since Chelly, and while you may not feel that way about me, I definitely feel that way about you. So...will you go out with me?"

"You...you really are serious," Lori said quietly.

"I am. I'm very serious," Doyle told her.

"I...I don't know, Doyle. I mean, we really barely know each other, and well, I am a lot older than you. I'm 30 or even 40, Doyle. You're not thinking about that."

"Yes, I am," he told her. "I'm thinking it doesn't matter to me. If that's a sticking point for you, then okay. But it's not for me. All I know is I love being around you. I'm happy when I'm with you. I enjoy talking to you, and in case I haven't made it clear, I think you're a very beautiful woman."

They were coming up to the farmhouse, and Lori had said anything for over a minute.

"Doyle? Would you mind taking me to my place?"

She wasn't angry or upset, she just wanted to go home.

"Yeah. Sure," he told her and drove on by his fixer-upper.

He pulled into her driveway and put the car in park.

They sat there for a few more seconds before Lori finally said, "Can I have some time to think about it?"

Her face was kind and her words were gentle letting Doyle know she really would consider it.

"Yes. Of course. I'll just be down the road," he said trying to smile.

"I...I had a really nice time today," she told him.

"Me, too."

"But this...this kind of changes everything," she said without sounding accusatory.

"I knew it might, but I felt like it was worth the risk. I hope I wasn't wrong," he told her.

Lori tried to smile but it didn't really work as she said, "I'll um...I'll just head inside now."

Doyle quickly ran around and opened her door and when Lori was standing next to him, she felt very uncomfortable. What she couldn't sort out was whether it was because she thought the idea of going out with someone close to her daughter's age was overly strange or if perhaps it was something she might possibly be interested in doing.

She thanked him again for lunch, then when she went to step around him, he moved to get out of her way and stepped right in front of her.

"Sorry," he said as they stood face to face for a brief moment before stepping back.

"Um...bye, Doyle," she said without looking at him as she walked inside.

"Way to go...dumbass," Doyle said to himself once he was back inside his car.

He knocked off work early that day then spent the next three days working alone. As far as he could tell, Lori hadn't so much as driven by, and Doyle was pretty sure he wouldn't be seeing her again after making such a fool out of himself.

He was hammering when he thought he heard a female voice and his mood instantly brightened.

"Back here!" he called as he stood up and straightened his shirt.

"Where?" he heard the voice say.

He walked toward it and saw Sandy gingerly walking through the mess.

"Oh. Sandy. Hey, there!" Doyle said.

"Hi," she said back. "This place is really coming along."

"Thanks. It had good bones, you know."

"Yeah. My mom and dad loved fixing up that old house, and I really loved growing up there," Sandy told him.

"So what brings you by?" Doyle asked assuming she was there to drop some more hints about asking her out.

"My mom," she said.

Suddenly concerned, Doyle asked, "Is she okay?"

"Oh, sure," Sandy told him immediately.

She hesitated then said, "No, not really."

"What is it? Is she ill or..."

"No. Nothing like that," Sandy told him. "Or...maybe it is like that."

"I'm confused," Doyle told her.

"Sorry. Me, too."

Sandy looked up at him then said, "I have to admit I was kind of hoping you'd ask me out."

"Sorry..."

Sandy cut him off but not in a rude way.

"No, it's okay. But then my mom told me you...you know...that you asked her out. I think I was as hurt as I was shocked, but then we started talking about it, you know?"

"No, not really," Doyle told her truthfully.

"Long story short...my mom likes you."

Sandy smiled then said, "She likes you, likes you. A lot. But she's totally hung up on the age thing."

"But...you're not?" Doyle asked not sure he was getting this.

"Well, I have to admit it's a little hard to think about. But my mom is such a good person and she's so lonely. She'd never admit it, but I know she is. I've tried setting her up a hundred times, but she either says 'no' or goes and doesn't have a nice time. But she's talked about you more than all those other guys combined times like...a thousand."

"What? About how crazy I am for asking her out?" Doyle said ignoring the hyperbole.

"No. That's more me than her," Sandy told him with a smile. "Look. I know you're a lot younger than my mom. But she looks so young and she's so pretty, and I want her to be happy. So I stopped by to tell you I know she really wants to go out with you. She just can't bring herself to admit it."

"So she's told you she does want to go out with me?" Doyle asked, once again feeling confused.

"No. Not in so many words, but I know my mom. She doesn't have to say the words out loud for me to know what she's thinking. If you were to go over to her house and ask her again, I know she'd say 'yes'."

"I don't know, Sandy. I kind of feel like I already blew it pretty bad with her, you know?"

"Trust me. You didn't blow it. You just confused her. You made her think. You forced her to confront her feelings. She and I have talked a lot since the restaurant, and my mom just needs another little...push."

"Yeah, as in over the cliff, right?" Doyle said wondering if that even made sense.

"You're not gonna push her over the edge or anything even close, Doyle. I know she really wants to go out with you. She's just...oh, boy...old school, and dating a guy your age just isn't something women her age do. At least not any women her age she knows."

"So...should I bring her flowers or stand outside her house and sing?"

Sandy laughed then said, "My mom also told me how 'well' you sing, so if you hope to get her to say 'yes' you might want to try something else. Like the flowers. Roses are her favorite, but she also loves tulips and they're in bloom now. Oh, and she really likes wildflowers. You could gather a bunch of local stuff and she'd love it just as much as an expensive bouquet of roses. My mom is like the easiest person in the world to make happy."

Doyle suddenly took hope and said, "Sandy? Thank you for letting me know. I'd pretty much given up ever even seeing your mom again let alone going out with her."

"Well, if you're not going to ask me out, and it's pretty obvious you aren't," she said with a look of disappointment, "then I'd rather see my mom happy so I thought I should stop by and let you know."

"I'm glad you did. This really means a lot to me."

"No problem. I'm sure there's at least one more gorgeous-looking, single guy out there willing to date a divorcée like me," she said with a smile.

"Well, you are hot. I have to admit you're a very attractive girl."

"Big sigh!" Sandy said. "Okay. That doesn't help, but thank you for saying it. So...the ball's in your court now, Doyle. My work here is done!"

And with a flip of her long hair, Sandy was gone.

Doyle sat down, got out his phone and found a place that delivered flowers. He ordered a dozen red roses and a dozen tulips and paid to have them delivered that same day.

Right at 5pm, he saw a FedEx truck go flying by and watched it pull into Lori's driveway. As it did, he walked around and gathered up all the wildflowers he could find, then just like a little boy, carried them home. Or in this case to Lori's house.

When he rang the doorbell he heard her say, "Who is it this time?"

When she opened the door, she was slack jawed.

Doyle held out the flowers then said, "I heard you like roses and tulips the best, but I believe you also like wildflowers."

He watched her look at him then the flowers then look down.

"Did I overdo it?" he asked trying to bend down to get her to look at him.

"No," she said shaking her head.

"Then what is it?" he asked her.

Lori shook her head slightly and without looking up said, "I was so happy with my life. Just me, my daughter, and my big old house."

Just then a Golden Retriever came bounding in wanting affection.

"And my dog," she said as she bent down to pet him.

"And then you had to go and do this," she said finally looking at him.

"This?"

"Yes...this," she said again. "You had to go and stir things up and make me think and...make me...feel again. I don't know whether to hate you or...invite you in."

Still holding the very large 'bouquet' of wildflowers, Doyle held them out again and said, "Either way, these are going to need some water."

Lori stood up, tilted her head, almost smiled then reached out for the bouquet.

When her hand wrapped around them, Doyle didn't let go. Instead, he used her grip to move forward and was now standing inches from her face.

"Doyle. I don't know what you think you're doing but, this is..."

He went for it and leaned down and kissed her while she was talking. Her eyes opened wide in surprise, but she stopped talking and after a second or so, kissed back.

"Does that mean I can come in?" Doyle asked with a smile.

"I...I'm not sure what that means," Lori said having trouble speaking. "But yes, you can come in."

He saw the other flowers already out on display.

"These are beautiful, Doyle. Thank you," she told him as he bent down to get a whiff.

"You're very welcome," he replied.

"These have my daughter written all over them," Lori said sweetly.

"Ah, yes. She did mention these are your favorites," he said turning toward her with a smile.

"I knew she'd blab," Lori said as though she were angry at her daughter.

Then she looked at Doyle and finally smiled before saying, "I think I'm kind of glad she did."

"Can you try and tamp down your enthusiasm?" Doyle teased.

"Sorry. I'm just not used to this."

"You're pretty much gonna have to get used to it. Or get rid of me," Doyle told her.

He handed her the wildflowers and she almost fell for the same trick a second time.

"I'm onto you now," she said, narrowing her eyes and trying to look tough.

She turned to find another vase and when she couldn't quite reach it, Doyle came up behind her, put his arm around her shoulders and said quietly, "Here. Let me get that for you."

Even he could barely reach it, but he did manage to get it down. When he went to hand it to her, he leaned forward a bit then said, "There you go."

He watched her reaction and could tell she was unsettled as she quietly said, "Thank you."

He ran his fingers up and down the middle of her back and just as quietly said, "You're welcome."

Again, he held onto the vase for a second then let it go.

When he did, Lori said, "I thought you were going to...kiss me again."

"I'd like to, I just wasn't sure if that's what you wanted me to do."

"I didn't think you were the kind of guy who asked," she said sweetly without looking at him.

"I'm just as confused and surprised by this as you are, Lori," he said as he continued running his hand up and down her back.

"Oh. Then you're very confused, too, huh?" she asked making it as much a statement as a question.

"Yes and no," he told her. "Yes, I'm confused, but no, because no matter how...strange...this may seem, I know how I feel about you."

"And how would that be?" she asked just about a whisper.

"Like this," Doyle said as he leaned over and around her and kissed her softly.

This time Lori turned around and faced him and put her arms around him and kissed back. For several seconds their lips pressed together and for the briefest of moments their tongues touched.

"I...I see," she said when it ended. "I...I might possibly feel like that, too."

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since you walked into my house," he told her, their arms still around each other.

"I have to admit I didn't have those kinds of thoughts at first. I just thought you were a really nice young man."

"At first?"

"After we had lunch and you told me how you feel...about me...that's when I started, well, having those kinds of thoughts. But even then I was more confused than anything else. My daughter was instrumental in helping me understand what I was feeling."

"And what do you think about when you have these thoughts?" Doyle asked as he ran the back of his fingers along her cheek.

She looked up into his eyes and said, "This," before standing on her toes and kissing him back.

This kiss wasn't quite as long as the previous one, but it was somehow different. It was as though Lori had just made a kind of mental jump that gave herself permission to see where this might lead.

"I um, I know I don't smell so great," Doyle told her knowing he'd been working all day.

"I don't mind," she told him sweetly. "I miss the scent of a man."

And with that she kissed him again, and this time their tongues did more than just touch.

"Wow," Lori said quietly when the kiss ended. "I'd honestly forgotten how enjoyable kissing can be."

"That was very pleasant," Doyle told her.

"Would you like to maybe stay for dinner?" she asked, her eyes hopeful.

"I would," he replied.

"You can take a shower if you'd like," she told him.

Doyle smiled then said, "Too much scent of a man?"

Lori tilted her head a little then said, "No. Not at all. I just wanted to offer."

She looked away for a moment then said, "I...I actually prefer a man to, you know, smell like a man."

When she looked back up at him, she said, "I'm not trying to scare you off..."

"Why would something so natural scare me off?" he asked. "All I want is to get to know you and what you like. I don't judge, Lori. I accept and enjoy the differences in people. Especially the beautiful ones—like you."

"If my heart wasn't beating out of my chest I'd make some smart-aleck comment about how cheesy that sounded," she told him as her eyes moved back and forth with his.

"You are beautiful," he told her again.

"But...well...even if I am...and I'm not saying I agree with you," she began. "I won't be in a few more years. You will be, but I won't. I...I'm not saying you're talking about some kind of long-term commitment here, I'm just pointing out a fact."

"No, sorry," Doyle told her. "You're just offering me your subjective opinion. You see, beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, and once I fall in love with a woman, she'll always be beautiful to me."

Lori didn't answer so Doyle asked, "Do you believe me?"

"I...I want to," she told him, her eyes full of sincerity. "It's just so hard to imagine. I'm not the 'hook-up' type, Doyle. I guess maybe that's one reason I've shied away from anything resembling a relationship. I can get very intense, and that scares a lot of people—including me."

"I'm not a lot of people," he told her. "It'll take time to learn to trust each other, but all I'm asking for is a chance, Lori. A chance to get to know you and maybe, just maybe...love you."

"I'm scared, Doyle," she told him as she moved closer and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I am, too. I've only been in love once, and in the blink of an eye it was gone."

"I've only been in love once, too," she told him as she now ran her hand along the back of his neck. "And for me, the same thing was true. I said goodbye that morning then found myself attending my husband's funeral. I never really believed I'd ever get involved with anyone else—seriously or otherwise."

He could tell there was something else she wanted to say so he encouraged her to just say it.

She looked up at him and asked, "Don't you want children, Doyle?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe. I don't really know, Lori. All I know is I don't think I can stand not knowing if you and I could..."

"Fall in love?"

"Yes. And all I care about is finding out. So no, I'm not concerned about children—at all. But I am concerned about getting to know you and seeing where this might go."

"Then...if you're really serious about this...I can think of one way to kind of...test the waters," she said even more sweetly than anything else she'd ever said to him.

"We don't have to do that," Doyle assured her. "I can wait for that as long as we need..."

"I don't want to wait," she said. "I was so conflicted after we talked. But then after discussing this with Sandy and thinking about it non-stop, I told myself if you made the first move; if you came back to see me again; if you ever...kissed me, I'd..."

She stopped talking then took his hand and led him toward the back of the house and without a word, Doyle followed her to her bedroom where she locked the door behind them just before turning out the lights.

When the lovemaking was over, Lori asked a question.

"Have you ever seen the movie with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson called Something's Gotta Give?"

"I have. Chelly and I watched it together with her mom not long after we started dating."

"I always laughed when she says she thought she was 'closed for business down there' after making love with a Jack Nicholson's character. But like her, I feel like almost shouting, 'I like sex. I REALLY like sex'!"

Doyle laughed then turned to look at her and said, "Was it okay for you?"

"Okay?" she said with incredulity. "Are you kidding? That may have just been the best sex I've ever had in my life! It was more than okay. It was...incredible!"

Suddenly Lori wondered if it wasn't so incredible for Doyle.

She sat up and asked, "It wasn't that great for you, though, was it?"

Stunned, Doyle sat up, too, and told her, "Are you kidding? I've only dreamed about a woman as...amazing as you, Lori. Oh, my God, you were freaking incredible!"

Lori laughed then said, "As long as the lights are out and the covers are hiding my body, right?"

"Hold on there!" Doyle said.

He reached for the lamp and Lori tried to stop him. "Don't you dare turn that on!"

She was trying to get around him but it wasn't much of a battle. When the light came on, Lori flew onto her back and pulled the covers up to her nose.

"You know I'm gonna just sit here until you let me prove to you just how beautiful you are," he told her with a smile.

"Then you may just die of old age right there watching me because that's not happening!" she said barely peaking out at him.

"I'm not Don Juan or anything, but I've seen a few female bodies in my time. As short as that amount of time has been, of course."

Lori smiled but didn't budge.

"Based on whatever experience I have, I can assure you your body is as beautiful as any I've ever seen."

He laid beside her and touched her temple, just about the only part of her that was visible.

"We all have our insecurities. You can feel however you want about your body, but I think it's pretty fabulous."

"I'm just afraid you won't feel that way if you actually see it," she said lowering the covers to her chin.

"I'd have to be beyond shallow to walk away from someone I feel so connected to because her body isn't flawless."

He smiled then said, "But yours might just be flawless."

"Ha! Now that's funny!" she said.

"Come on. This is silly. I think you're beautiful, Lori. I'm the same guy who thought you were around 32, remember?"

"Thirty-two. That's even funnier."

"Okay. Then I guess I'll go take a shower now," he told her. But before he moved, he kissed her and she responded immediately and kissed him back for a very long time.

"Please be nice," she said when it ended and she started lowering the covers.

The only hint of her true age came from some fine lines around her lower neck and possibly the back of her hands. Yes, there were faded stretch marks from having had a baby, but her body was still hard, tight, and firm. Even her B-cup breasts were still quite firm and even perky.