Patience

"Yes and no. I cried, but then I put Nickelback, Eurythmics and some of that other stuff with lots of drumbeat to it and turned it up loud. Sort of catharsis via sound if you know what I mean," she said.

"Yes, I do. So you did in 5-6 hours what would have taken us two days?" he asked.

"Yes,"

"Good, so next time I need things done fast all I have to do is piss you off?" he teased.

"No! You brat! Eat your salsa and chips!"

The waitress brought their dinners and they began to eat their food. The conversations died a bit.

"Rose, I'm proud of you," he said.

"Why?"

"Because you stepped over your own shadow. Yes, the ex upset you, but this time you turned it positive," he said.

Rose nodded as she swallowed a bite of burrito. "Yeah, but I can't clean the office and be super woman every time," she said.

"Nor do I expect you to. There will still be days when he pushes your buttons and you collapse in tears. There will be days that you fight back and he leaves in tears. It just takes time and patience," Rafe said.

"Yeah. It will," Rose said as she pushed her plate back. "I'm finished."

Rafe ate the last bite of his enchiladas and nodded. He got up, paid for their dinners and the two of them walked to the car.

When they got home, Rafe had a second look at all the work Rose had done. He was amazed. Turning to her, he took Rose in his arms and held her close. She hugged him back and kissed him.

"Are you too tired for a bit of playtime?" he asked.

"No," Rose said after thinking for all of about three seconds.

"Good," Rafe said and turned off the office lights and headed for the bedroom.

Once they were in the bedroom, Rafe turned down the bed.

"I'm going to undress you and then give you a massage," he said.

"I like that idea," said Rose and held still for him to start undoing her buttons. She'd worn a silk shirt over a teeshirt that day with jeans and running shoes. She kicked the shoes off for Rafe.

Rafe in turn finished unbuttoning her shirt and removed it. Dropping it to the floor, he lifted her teeshirt up and off. Rose had on the champagne colored bra today. Then he unzipped her jeans and saw that she had on the matching panties. He smiled. Rose stepped out of her jeans and then turned for him to unhook her bra. The bra and then panties joined the clothes on the floor.

Rose lay down on the bed and stretched. She didn't realize how sore she had gotten from all the work. Rafe went to the bathroom and grabbed the four legged monster out of the drawer. He returned with it and some lotion. The monster hummed in his hand.

Rose giggled as the vibrations moved across her back. She felt her muscles react and relax to Rafe's massage. He moved down her back to her legs. Rose flinched a bit when he came to her calves, but he just held her foot so she didn't kick him.

"Hold still," he said.

"I'm trying, but that tickles!" she giggled.

"No, this tickles," he said as he held the four legged monster to her foot.

"Nooooo!" she squealed and twisted to get away.

"Okay, okay! I'll stop," he said and went back to working on her legs. Once he felt she was fairly relaxed, he took the lotion and massaged it into her skin. Starting with her feet, he worked his way up. Rose moaned a few times, but didn't say much. By the time he got to her shoulders, she was almost asleep.

"Rose, let's get under the covers," he said softly.

"Oh... okay," she said. "I'm so sleepy, and we didn't..."

"It's okay honey. We can have fun in the morning. You needed to relax after everything today. So, let's just go to sleep," he said as they crawled under the covers.

Rose kissed him on the lips and then curled up against his chest. She never knew which snuggle she enjoyed the most. Being held like this or spooning up together. "I love you," she said softly.

"I love you too," he said and held her tight. He knew that their lovemaking in the morning would be enjoyable. She would have been too wound up if they'd made love tonight. Now she was relaxed and would sleep well, as would he. Patience has it's payoffs.

*

Epilogue

A year had gone by since Rose's divorce had become final. Rafe had been trying to decide whether to celebrate the anniversary, or just let the date pass. Life had gotten hectic again, which meant that things didn't always go as planned. He walked into the office and had just sat down when Rose came in.

"Damn it's cold!" she said as she took off her coat.

"Yes, and I swear I'm going to buy myself a heated mouse pad," said Rafe.

Rose laughed. She came over and gave Rafe a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her for a quick hug. In the kitchen, the kettle clicked off.

"Tea?" he asked as he got up to make a cup for himself.

"Yes, please. I need all the caffeine I can get today," she said she followed him into the kitchen. "I'm not sure what was more stressful, the essay, the math test or doing the whole interview thing at the bed and breakfast."

"Essay and math test?" he asked.

"Yeah. The whole touchy feely thing about favorite books, what kind of person you look for in a friend, what kind of a job do you want as well as 'please add up the following'," said Rose. "Oh, they even asked if I was an on time kinda person."

"Oh, that's good. Miss ten minutes early is on time and on time is late!" Rafe teased. They were both punctual and teased each other about it.

"Yep, they went there. Of course, the manager of the B&B was in the foyer when I got there. He just sort of looked at me and blinked.

"Rose, if they haven't called you in to work in nearly three weeks, what do they expect?" Rafe asked. The people that ran the B&B irritated him no end. He knew that Rose needed the satisfaction of earning money, and he was working hard to make the computer business profitable enough that she could just work for him.

"I expect they'll call on Sunday night. And yes, in spite of everything that has gone on, until I get another job, I will probably keep working there," she said. "I just don't cope well being out of work."

"So, you think the interview went well?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Yes. However, the city is holding the store up so they won't open up for another month. And that is why I'll keep slogging away at the B&B for the moment," Rose finished. She knew he wasn't happy about the situation. They'd talked about it enough over the last couple of weeks. She'd gotten upset more than once and instead of sex, they'd spent hours talking about the budget, work and the computer business. She knew intellectually that she could tell the B&B to stuff it, but... There was that shadow.

"Well, you could always work for me," he said softly. "In for a penny, in for a pound," said that little voice in the back of his head.

"Yes, I could. And I know it frustrates you that I keep working there even though they are about as responsible as a duck fart. However, right now it wouldn't hurt to have a little cushion when it comes to the household accounts and my pocketbook," she said. "It's nearly Christmas, we're going to my parents and I'd like to have a little money to spend," she thought.

"Yes, but that's your decision, and not mine to make," he said which was as close to an 'I think this is a poor choice' as he dared voice. They each had their thick headed moments and both had learned to deal with them. "So, are we going up to visit your friends and do some shopping?" he asked.

"I think so. Can we leave in about twenty minutes?" she asked.

He nodded.

The visit to the Saunder's little farm had gone well. It was way up in the hills and Rose's friends had geese, ducks, chickens, goats, dogs, cats and pigs. It had been a riot watching the son feed all the animals. He ended up with this little parade of ducks and chickens following him through the pens hoping for extra scraps. Rafe fine tuned the computers while Rose and Jenny Saunders visited. After dinner, they headed home.

"Do we need anything from the store?" asked Rafe as they stopped at the intersection next to the Market.

"Yes, we need a lot of things, but I there are some that can't wait," she said.

"Then lets get them while we are here," he said and pulled across the intersection and parked the car.

Rose tried to think of what she needed as they entered the Market. She hadn't been in the store in ages. In fact, they had remodeled it. She looked around feeling lost.

"Um, oh gods, when did they do this?" she wondered out loud.

"Don't know. You pretty much stopped shopping here after the divorce," said Rafe. "Probably a good decision," he thought.

"Uhuh, Didn't want to run into the ex to be honest," said Rose.

They grabbed a cart and started wandering up and down the aisles. Rose headed for the back of the store where she hoped the eggs and milk were still stored. Counting purchase prices and picking up only what she needed, they worked down to the meat aisle. Rose was looking into an open freezer when Rafe bumped her arm.

"Look who's here," he said softly.

Rose looked up and saw her ex with a rather frumpy woman that reminded her a lot of herself ten years ago. The woman saw Rafe and Rose and dropped her eyes quickly. Rose decided to take the ex by the horns and leaned over the freezer a bit and waved at the couple.

"Boo!" she said and waved again.

"Oh, hi," said her ex quietly.

"Surprised to see you here," Rose said. "We've just come back from visiting the Saunder's."

"Oh, that's nice," the ex said with little interest in his voice.

"Well, wouldn't want to keep you from your shopping. Nice to see you," Rose said with a smile in her voice that didn't go past her lips.

"Bye," said the ex. He and the woman he was with moved quickly down the aisle.

"Wow, they scuttled out of here faster than cockroaches in a kitchen after the lights have been turned on," said Rafe.

"They sure did," said Rose. They continued shopping for a bit and then headed for the check out lanes. There was the ex at the check out. Rafe headed for the same line.

"You did see them didn't you?" Rose asked.

"Yes, and now look at the expressions on their faces," he said.

Rose looked. Her ex and the woman looked as if someone had given them an alum and lemon soda. She had to turn around in order to avoid giggling.

"My, my, my... What sour attitudes," said Rafe.

Rose turned around and watched as they literally stormed out of the store. She shook her head and smiled. She felt pretty good considering that she had just had a run in with her ex.

Rafe and Rose got home late. They unpacked the car and then put the groceries away. It had been a long day. Rose slipped on a nightie and climbed into bed. Rafe moved his arm to let her snuggle close. Rose moved her head up and kissed Rafe on the lips. He turned on his side and ran his hand up and under her nightie. Her skin was warm and soft. He moved his lips down her throat, nibbling and licking as he went.

Rose moaned and she snuggled closer to Rafe. Rafe smiled and ran his hand between her legs. She was wet. As his mouth wrapped around her nightie covered nipple, his fingers slipped deep inside her. Rose moaned louder. Rafe moved down until his mouth met the top of her pubic bone. His tongue slipped between her lips and flicked her clit.

"Oh godohgodohgod!!" Rose gasped as he worked both tongue and fingers at a slow steady pace. She arched off the bed as her orgasm rippled through her. Rafe smiled at Rose as she melted to the bed. Before she could move, he moved up and between her legs. Straddling her one leg and moving the other up, he slid into her. She was wet and tight from the orgasm, and the heat of her pussy felt so good. Rafe stroked slowly.

"You... are... such... a...a...a," she gasped, trying to finish the thought.

"Such a what?" he asked smiling at her. He reached up and pinched her nipple that had escaped the top of her nightie. His other hand cradled her ass as he stroked in and out.

"Bbbbrat!" she gasped at last.

Rafe laughed. He knew that she liked to have a turn at exciting him, but that wasn't happening tonight. He was being a brat. Rafe increased his pace. His hand moved to her hip and held her tight while he moved faster and faster. Rose started to shudder as an orgasm built momentum. He lowered his other hand to her crotch and started rubbing her clit with his thumb. The orgasm ripped through her and she arched and bucked against him.

"Oh, ohmyohmyohmyyyyyyyyy..." she moaned as orgasms rolled her senses and spread pleasure to both of them.

"Oh gods...ohggggggoooodddds," Rafe hissed as his own orgasm boiled up from his toes and washed over him. He felt the doubled effect as Rose shared her orgasms again and again. "Oh...My...God.." he thought. The two of them shuddered with pleasure and then melted to the bed.

A few minutes later when they'd caught their breaths, Rose rolled to face Rafe.

"I could have sworn you were too tired to have sex," she said softly as she stroked his face.

"I was, but then I thought how well you handled the whole thing in the grocery store and I thought you deserved a treat," he said. His hand rested on her hip.

"You know, I feel pretty good. I really do. Doesn't mean I won't have a melt down somewhere along the line, but I'm not upset like I would have been a year ago," Rose said.

"And that is why I figured that you needed a treat," Rafe said as his fingertips danced over her clit bringing her to another orgasm. He smiled as she squeaked.

"I," he said flicking her clit.

"Oh!" she squeaked.

"Love," he said doing it again.

"Ohgogogdddddd," she moaned.

"You," he finished and brought Rose to an orgasm that arched her off the bed.

"Guhhhhhhhh," she gasped and passed out.

"Amazing what a little patience can do when it comes to relationships," he thought.