Patience

"Rafe, I don't have the money," she started to protest.

"No, but I do. Plus, I seem to remember that I owe you some back wages. I got my tax money, and so I decided that we were gong shopping," he said. "And the granny panties get to die!" said the voice in the back of his head.

"Rafe! I really don't need new undies," she protested.

"Fine, then I'll buy you a bunch of things that I think will fit without any input from you. Sound good?" he asked with a little edge to his voice. He was frustrated that Rose wouldn't do things for herself or let others do them for her.

Rose gulped. She'd heard that tone in his voice before, and realized that there was no changing his mind. "Um, Rafe, please... it's just that... oh hell. I'm no good at this," she said and sort of curled up in her seat.

Rafe realized that he had surprised and upset her at the same time. He pulled the car over at a gas station, and after he parked, he turned to her. "Rose, its okay. I just wanted to give you a present. I knew if I gave you the money, you'd use it on something practical and still be wearing those same worn out things. I didn't mean to upset you," he said.

Rose looked over at him, and nodded. She knew deep down that she'd love new clothes, but was so use to denying herself that she just did it automatically. "Okay Rafe, we'll go shopping. It's just..."

"Yes, I know. And I'm sorry if I accidentally pushed some buttons. I get frustrated that you are so shy about letting people help you. I love you and want to see you in pretty things. Okay?"

Rose smiled this time. "Okay. Just no pink lace. I hate pink."

"Fine, lots of pink lace with extra froth on the side," he said with a smile.

Rose giggled and swatted at him with her fingers. He grabbed her fingers and kissed them. Then he pulled her into a hug. After a kiss, Rafe pulled forward, filled the tank and they headed off to town.

*

Rafe was very good at spotting things that would work for Rose. By the time they'd left the mall, she had new bras, panties and a nightgown that didn't look like it belonged on a nun. Rafe had two new shirts as well. They were passing the Scents shop when Rose slowed down. She was looking in the windows, but passed by the door.

"Honey, why don't you go in?" he asked.

"No, I don't need anything, I've got lotions at home. It just smells so nice as we walk past," she said.

"Rose, this isn't about need. This is about want. Let's go in and see what smells good to you," he said taking her by the hand and leading her into the store. "Oh my, lacy bits and nice scents, she'll pass out on you!" said the voice in the back of his head.

"Rafe, I feel like a five year old in a candy store," Rose said looking at all the scents.

Rafe smiled. Body lotions, shower gels, candles and massage oils filled the shelves. She walked past the vanilla's and coconut flavors and headed for the aromatherapy scents. Rafe watched her and then headed for the aisle marked 'New Scents'. He smelled a few and found one he liked. Rafe watched Rose out of the corner of his eyes to see if she actually focused on any one scent.

After about ten minutes of walking around, she kept returning to one area. He went over to where she was standing. "Find anything?" he asked.

"Um... well, this one is nice, but I can probably find a cheaper one at the Market," she said.

"You really like this one?" he asked as he turned it over and checked the price. It was $8, which was why she was making noises about not buying it. Most of the lotions she bought cost $1 or $2 and smelled okay, but were nothing compared to this stuff.

"It does smell nice, but I..." was as far as she got. Rafe had picked up two, since he read the sign which knocked $4 off the price if you bought two.

"Good. Now you can smell as beautiful as you look," he said.

Rose blushed. After all this time, she still wasn't use to thinking of herself as beautiful. Self esteem was not her strong point when it came to appearance.

"Aren't you going to get anything? You don't have any cologne or aftershave either," she said.

"Gottcha there! She's right!" said that voice.

"Um..."

"Rafe, Fair is fair. Let's go look at the men's stuff," she said.

"You're right. Let's see if we can find something that we both like," he said.

"Okay," she said slowly like something she'd tried hadn't worked exactly as she expected. They walked over to the men's scents. After about five minutes they had found one he liked and that Rose did too. Rafe paid for them and they headed out for dinner.

Dinner at the Chinese buffet was great. The owner was a thin energetic woman who chatted with them every time they came in. Stuffed on smoked eel sushi and dumplings, they headed home forty minutes later. Rafe took the Interstate home. Rose headed for the bathroom as soon as he got the door unlocked.

A few minutes later, Rafe heard Rose call his name and he went into the bedroom to see what she wanted. Rose was standing there in one of the new bra and undies sets they'd bought and smelled of the new lotion as well. She was nervous. She looked great.

"Ohmy ohmy ooooommmmyyyy" said that voice.

"Rose, you look beautiful."

She blushed. Then she didn't know what to do. "I... I tried on the bits, and think this one looks the best," she said.

"Well, let's see the others," he said softly and sat on the bed.

Rose went back into the bathroom and came out in a minute with another set on. He smiled, and then she went and changed again. This time, she came out wearing the nightie. It was soft blue knit and swirled around her thighs.

"That's much prettier on than in the store," he said.

"I thought so too. Plus," she said and lifted the hem of the nightie and showed him one of the other pair of panties they'd bought. Rose had agreed to two bras and six pairs of panties.

"Very nice, now come here," Rafe said.

Rose walked over to him, and snuggled into his arms. He put his nose in close to her neck and smelled how the lotion melded with her own scent. The air moving past her skin tickled, and she giggled.

Rafe sat down on the bed and pulled Rose with him. As they snuggled on the bed, he moved the hair away from her face and kissed her.

"So, was it worth the stress of shopping?" he asked.

Rose hesitated for a moment. "Yeah," she said quietly.

"Good," he said. "Now how do I unwrap you?" he finished with a smile.

*

Rafe opened the door quietly. It was 1am. He'd tried to get home sooner, but it seemed like there was a conspiracy to delay him. First the job was over 275 miles away. Then complications with parts and software. At least the per diam was good. He'd made more in four days than he normally did in four weeks.

Bad part was that he was gone the final week of Rose's divorce proceedings. He knew from their nightly chats that she was exhausted. These had been the hardest weeks of her life. Her ex had been yelling and screaming for the better part of three weeks. Today had been the final day and the gavel hit the desk at 9am. He had wanted to be there with her, but the client insisted on paying him today instead of the night before.

He'd talked to her on the phone earlier that evening. She was so tired, that she was headed to bed as soon as they hung up the phone. That had been at 7pm. Rafe had said he'd be there as soon as he could and had gotten on the road while they were still talking.

Rafe placed his bags on the floor, took off his shoes and tiptoed into the bedroom. He still had the bag from the Oddities Shop in his hand. He'd been walking past the window and seen this iridescent fairy made of fabric, beads and ceramics. It was only about eight inches tall. It reminded him of Rose, the way she told him 'Don't piss off the Fairies' when he was doing something new or delicate. Her way of saying be careful. So, he did something serendipitous for once and bought an impractical gift. "See, engineers CAN be spontaneous!" said the voice in his head.

Rafe opened the bedroom door to find Rose curled up in the sheets, wearing what looked like just her bra and panties. He set the bag on the floor and undressed quietly. She stirred as he started to crawl under the covers.

"Rafe?" she asked sleepily.

"Yes Rose, I'm home," he answered.

Rose wrapped her arms around him and snuggled close. Rafe cuddled her close. She smelled good. He moved down to kiss her lips and then across her neck. She responded with kisses and mumbled greetings.

Rafe broke off the kiss. "I brought you a present," he said and reached down for the bag. He handed it to her.

Rose took the bag and gave him an odd look. She knew Rafe was the practical sort, so she was curious and cautious all at the same time. The bag didn't weigh much. Rose tried to think of anything she might have asked for on the grocery list or jobs list that would weigh about the same.

"Go on. Open it," he urged.

Rose peeked in and then a smile spread across her face as she pulled the fairy out of the bag.

"Oh! Rafe, she's beautiful! Thank you!" she said and hugged and kissed Rafe. She got out of bed and put the fairy in a place of honor on the dresser. Then she came back to bed and continued kissing Rafe.

"Glad you like the fairy. I saw her and knew she needed to come home with me," he said between kisses.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"I had to do something to brighten your day. I'm sorry I wasn't here," he said.

"It wasn't too bad. He didn't show up. I was glad after all the yelling he's been doing. I'm just glad it is over," Rose said.

"Me too," he answered. Then he started to kiss her neck and down her chest. She had on one of the bra and pantie sets they'd bought. He liked the way she looked in the navy blue lace and satin. His hands ran up her back, and across her shoulders. She wast still tense from the day, but was relaxing under his touch. Rose ran her hands through his hair and onto his shoulders. Leaning in to him brought her breasts up against his lips.

Rafe kissed her breasts through her bra. Her nipples started to get hard. He let his hands drift down her back to the clasp of the bra and he undid it slowly, one hook at a time. Rose shrugged the bra off of her shoulders and let her breasts fall into Rafe's hands. He tossed the bra aside and started kissing her breasts.

Rafe rolled them over until he was on top. He kissed his way down her stomach and when he reached her panties, he slowly pulled them off. Then he kissed up her legs until he was at the top of her pubic bone. His kisses went deeper and Rose arched up as his tongue flicked over her clit.

"Ohhhhhh," she moaned. She arched as he brought her to orgasm again before moving back up her stomach.

Rose moved her hands down and stroked his erection. The tip was damp, and she rubbed the moisture across the top of his head. This brought a shudder up Rafe's spine. It distracted him for a moment and Rose moved so she could wrap her lips around his cock and pulled him as far in as she could.

It was Rafe's turn to groan. "Ohgodsohgodsohgods!!! Been too long!" the voice moaned. He knew he wouldn't last long. Rose made him feel so good, and a week away was a long time. "Rose,... hhold on a mmomment," he gasped.

Rose let go of his cock with a smile. Rafe rolled her on her side and straddled her lower leg. Moving his cock into her wet pussy, while she moved her upper leg towards her chest. Rafe began to move in a slow rhythm. It felts so good, that he began to move faster and faster. Rose moaned with pleasure and her muscles began to tighten around his cock. He could feel her orgasm start and he moved faster. Rose orgasmed again and again which brought Rafe to the brink and pushed him over. He orgasmed hard. Rose orgasmed again and that lovely shared warmth rolled over them. He sank to the bed and laid there gasping.
"I love you," she said.

"Love you too," he answered.

*

Rafe had been grouchy all day. He wasn't sure what had set him on edge, but it was seeping into everything he did. Rafe was even snapping at Rose. She had gone quieter and quieter as the evening went on. After dinner, Rose worked on her computer. Rafe asked question after question in rapid succession when Rose closed down her computer and stood up.

"I'm going to bed Rafe," she said quietly.

"Rose, I still have stuff for you to proof," he said sharply.

"Rafe, I'm tired. I'm not in a good head space for making decisions. I'm going to bed." Rose turned and left the room.

"Fine. Goodnight," he said gruffly and turned back to his computer. Rafe realized some time later that Rose hadn't kissed him goodnight. She never forgot to do that. He looked up at the clock and realized that it was after midnight. He closed down his computer and stepped outside for a few minutes.

"What the hell is going on?" he thought to himself. I've been short with people all day." Standing there watching the sky, he realized he had been really short with Rose. "Better go apologize," he said out loud as he headed back into the house.

Rafe got undressed in the bathroom and then quietly went to the bedroom. Rose was curled up in a ball with her arms wrapped around a pillow. He reached over and touched her shoulder.

"Rose, can you scoot over a little?" he asked softly.

Rose blinked and then moved over to let Rafe in bed.

"Rose, I was really crabby today and I'm sorry. I don't know what set me off," he said.

Rose straightened out and faced Rafe. "You were crabby, but I accept your apology. I was getting upset and rather than having more buttons pushed, I just went to bed."

Rafe thought about what she'd said. He hadn't considered that he was 'pushing buttons', but looking back he realized that she had become quieter and quieter all day. Rafe moved to wrap his arms around her. "I really am sorry Rose."

"So am I. We were both mis-communicating tonight," she said as she put her head on his chest. "I'm sorry I let my buttons get pushed."

"That's my fault for being insensitive," said Rafe.

Rose didn't say anything. She just held him.

"Love you Rose," he said.

"Love you too Rafe. It was just a bad day."

"I agree," Rafe said.

Rose snuggled closer.

"I think this is the closest we've ever come to a fight," said Rafe.

"Uhuh."

"Let's not do this again," he said.

""I agree. Let's never fight," said Rose. She raised up to kiss him. Rafe rolled and met her lips with a kiss.

"Would you rub my back?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

Rose rolled onto her stomach and got comfortable. Rafe sat up and rubbed her back. Her shoulders were so tense, he didn't think that he'd make a dent in them in an hour.

"Just a second," he said as he stood up. Rafe walked over to the box on the dresser and got the massage thing Rose called the four legged monster. It was a vibrating massage tool they'd bought at Bed & Bath. He sat back down and turned it on. It thrummed away as he ran it over her shoulders.

"I never know which one of us gets more of a massage when we use the four legged monster," Rafe said.

"Neither am I, but it feels really good. I didn't realize how much I hurt." Rose moved to let Rafe get to her neck better.

Rafe ran it down her back almost to her tailbone.

"Stop! That tickles!" she giggled.

"Why?" he asked teasing her with it.

"This was suppose to be a backrub!" she said.

"Well, I'm still on your back," said Rafe.

"I know, but I'm tired and not in the mood to play around," she said.

"Okay, I figured that you were, but I wanted to make you laugh," he said.

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better," she said.

Rafe smiled and put the four legged monster away. He got back into bed and snuggled Rose close to his chest. Rose sighed and rested her head on his arm.

"Night Rose," he said.

"Night Rafe."

Soon the only sound in the room were Rafe's snores.

*

Rose was humming under her breath. It was some tune off the radio, and while she wasn't on key, she was happy. Rafe walked into the office to see the new furniture was in place and the paint seemed to gleam under the florescent bulbs they'd installed after they had added the new fixtures. She'd done a lot of work while he was off with a client.

"You sound happy," he said.

"I am," Rose said smiling.

"And why are you so happy?"

"Well,... All the construction is done. No more paint fumes, wall patching or drywall needing attention and the furniture is all in place. Oh, and no more plans taped to walls," she said.

"Ah, is that all it takes to make you happy?" he asked as he wrapped her in his arms.

"That and someone else cooking tonight. I'm exhausted."

"Oh, and what did you do that exhausted you?" Rafe asked with an impish grin.

"Just stuffed a gazillion books back onto shelves along with parts in parts bins, files in cabinets and cleaned all the whiteboards," she said as she pointed out areas she'd worked on during the day. "Oh, and almost forgot. I cleaned up my desk!" she laughed.

Rafe smiled and laughed at that. Over the last few days, he had threatened to declare her desk a disaster zone. There had been papers piled deep as well as coffee cups, press passes and books stacked hazardously nearly burying her laptop. Looking over, he saw that it had indeed been cleaned within an inch of it's life. Even the glass top was clean.

"Wow. Now, I have just one question," he said turning to Rose.

"What?" she asked.

"Where is the real Rose, and what have you done with her?"

Rose batted at him. "That's two questions! Urrrkkkk! You loose. Now you must take me to dinner," she said.

Rafe laughed again. "Well, I guess I've been told. Chinese, Mexican or steak?"

Rose thought for a second. "Mexican," she said.

Rafe nodded, grabbed his keys and out the door they went. Fifteen minutes later, they were at the Cantina, the local Mexican food cafe. The waitress waved them to a booth and they stared at menus for a minute. When the waitress came back, she took their order and disappeared.

"You really got a lot accomplished while I was gone," Rafe said.

"I was tired of the mess. After you left this morning, I looked around and realized I just couldn't deal with it. Nor did I want to wait for you to get home. So, I wiggled and shifted bookcases into place, filled them up and then attacked other bits. First my desk, then the laundry and while that was going on, I hit the floors."

"Honey, you should have waited a bit. I'd have helped," he said.

"I know, but when you weren't home after 11am, I figured that you wouldn't get home till dinner time and I was right," she said.

"What else besides the mess set you off," asked Rafe, as it dawned on him that she had done all that work in less than six hours. Not her normal pace. In fact, he'd only seen her hit that when something had upset or angered her.

Rose looked off in the middle distance for a moment. She had been trying not to mention this, but Rafe had noticed. She looked back at him. "The ex came by. Doing the whole 'oh sweetie-baby-darling, look at what you've done, and I could have done it better' bullshit about 9:30am. What he wanted was for me to do his taxes. After all these years, he still can't do them," she said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. About the time he started slandering you, I had had enough. So, I told him that H&R Block only charged $100 for his kind of return, and that I wouldn't do them and said goodbye," she said. "I showed him the door and locked it once he left."

Rafe reached over and took her hand. He'd been right. Didn't like being right, but her ex was like a plague. He kept turning up at all the wrong moments and always with disastrous results. He was about to say something when the waitress brought their drinks along with chips and salsa.

"Thanks," he said. They ate chips and salsa for a few minutes. Rafe broke the silence. "So, he pissed you off and rather than crying, you got to work?" he asked.