Randi

"She's a little doll," Eaton said.

"Sometimes I wonder, but yes, I would mostly agree with that," Randi said. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm getting there," he told her.

He was standing now, too, and sniffed twice.

"Something smells really good!"

"I hope you like it," she told him. "Would you like a glass of wine?"

"If you're having one—yes," he told her.

This time he took her hand as they walked to the kitchen before she poured them both a glass.

After touching the glasses and taking a first sip, Randi said, "Isn't it strange how things work out sometimes? Just a couple of weeks ago, I was still struggling to find my way back. I was doing better, but life was still just so...hollow. And then I noticed someone had liked every single photo I posted to Facebook."

She smiled at him in a way that moved him deeply.

"I liked them because they were so genuine and so real," he said. "And I couldn't agree more about feeling better. I was honestly beginning to wonder if I'd ever feel good again. I was so burnt out with work, and obviously I was very much alone. And then I saw your photo on Facebook and... ."

"And here you are," she said sweetly. "I understand the real reason you're here is your dad, of course. May I ask how he's doing?"

Eaton gave her a rundown of what he knew and his subjective opinion.

"David, I'm so sorry. To have lost your wife, and now having to deal with this."

"Thank you, Randi. But as someone we both know once told me, life often deals us some pretty crappy hands."

She smiled, but not in the same way.

"You know, when Jason's partner came here with the Chief of Police and the department chaplain, I felt like I died, too. Only with me, it was from the inside out. It was like my 'life force' was draining away from somewhere below my abdomen. Does that make any sense at all?"

"Sadly, it does. That's actually a very good description of how it feels. You have this hollowness 'down there' that makes you feel as though energy is being sucked out of you by the grief you can't shake."

Randi was nodding in agreement then said, "I was sitting here thinking about all of the things that happened that brought us together before just you called. Had we not both lost our spouses, you'd probably have never looked at my photos, and for that matter, my mom probably wouldn't have even emailed you. And even then, had you not been so kind and understanding...."

"And handsome?" Eaton added with a grin.

"Well, yes. There is that," she said smiling happily at him again. "But that still wouldn't have been enough."

"No. I agree with you. We had to have some kind of a connection."

"Right. Something deeper than having been widowed or...."

She tilted her head then asked, "Is 'widowered' a word?"

"Sorry. I teach economics," he said causing her to laugh.

"Handsome and funny. And a Libertarian. That's the connection."

"You said Jason was, too, right?"

Randi spent the next few minutes happily sharing fond memories of the only man she'd ever loved romantically.

"I really didn't know much about any of this until we met. He was so passionate about it but not pushy. I listened carefully and critically, and the more he told me, the more I found myself agreeing with him. I was in grad school and didn't have a lot of time, but I did some reading on my own, and that sort of sealed the deal."

"Yeah, that's a really huge issue for me, too. So is eating right and working out, and we also have that in common," Eaton reminded her.

"True. We have a lot in common—professor," she said before kissing him again.

They spent another few minutes talking about the things they loved to do before dinner was ready.

A half hour later, Chloe couldn't take any more sitting at the table, and asked to be excused. Eaton was nearly done and said, "Did you still want to play?"

"Of course!" she said, a big smile appearing on her face.

Eaton stood up, and his heart melted when Chloe reached up and took his index finger.

"Come on! We can go upstairs to my room, and you can have any doll you want. Except for Lil' Peanut Baby."

Randi got up, too, and said, "That's her favorite Christmas present. It's so lifelike it's scary."

Eaton had never seen one before, but Randi was right. It looked pretty close to an actual human baby and nothing like any doll he'd ever seen Mac play with growing up.

"Here. You can play with this one and Mommy can have...."

Chloe looked around and found one for her mom and said, "This one!"

An hour later, they were still playing, but had changed 'games' three times.

"David, if you're tired of this, we can...."

"No. Not at all. This is the most fun I've had in years," he told her truthfully.

"I like David, Mommy," Chloe said matter of factly. "He's very nice."

"Yes, he is, honey," she said as she looked at him.

"For a dinosaur, right?" he replied with a wink.

"Stop!" Randi said, smiling back at him.

Just before 8 o'clock, it was time for Chloe to take a bath, and that let the grownups have some more time alone.

Eaton was wondering what was wrong when the went back downstairs and finally asked Randi if everything was okay.

He saw her tearing up then turn away as she said, "I can't tell you how much it meant to me to see you playing with my daughter, David. I used to love watching Jason do that with her, and...well, it was just very pleasant to see, and she had so much fun!"

He walked over and put his arms on her shoulders as she faced away from him.

"I really enjoyed it, too," he told her.

She turned around, looked into his eyes, then said, "I could tell. And that's what made me so happy."

He touched her pretty face then said, "You make me happy."

"You, too," she said softly before closing her eyes and moving closer indicating she wanted to be kissed.

This one lasted for a very long time, and when it ended, Randi said, "I...I'm not sure if I should say this right now, but I...I really have very strong feelings for you, David."

He smiled at her, pulled her close, and as he held her said, "I'm glad you did, because...."

He remembered both what Mac and his mom had said. He gently stroked her long, silky hair, then said, "Because I may just be falling in love with you."

Randi held him even closer after saying that, and he could feel that she was crying.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

Randi nodded then said, "Yes. I'm just so happy I can't help it."

He gently pushed her head into his neck and said, "Same here. This is like some kind of fairy tale or dream come true."

Randi pulled back slightly then looked up into his eyes and said, "I wish you could stay here tonight."

While they had only just met, the amount of time they'd spent talking made both of them feel like they'd know each other for years. There were so many levels on which they connected, and so far, not one on which they didn't.

"Maybe we could do something a little more...romantic this weekend," he suggested.

"I'd like that. Very much," she said. "I'm sure my mom would watch Chloe for an evening."

She smiled then said, "Or...a night."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I mean, about spending a night with me."

"I've been sure since the time we talked all night," she told him, her eyes filled not only with tears but with all the sincerity she could show. "And now that we've met, I'm 100% certain."

"Then I'll make reservations for dinner and...."

"MOM-MY!" they heard Chloe call out. "I'm all finished with my bath time!"

Randi smiled and called back, "Okay, honey! I'll be right there!"

"I want David!" she hollered back.

Knowing she wasn't dressed, Randi tried not to laugh when she hollered out, "Um...not this time, sweetie!"

Randi got Chloe dried and dressed, but Eaton insisted on reading her a bedtime story when she asked.

"Do you have a dinosaur book?" he asked.

Chloe immediately got happy, and told him she did. She ran over to her stack of books and knew exactly which one it was without having to look.

"I like the T-Rex!" she said as she handed him the book.

Randi nearly cried again when David roared loudly when he pretended to be the T-Rex. Chloe shrieked with fear then laughed and asked him to do it again.

"You mean like this?" he said as he looked right into her eyes touching her forehead with his before roaring again.

When she shrieked, he reached over and grabbed her sides and said, "Now the T-Rex is going to eat you all up!" as his fingers tickled her ribs.

Chloe was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe and begged Eaton to stop. Then the moment he did she said, "More!!!"

After another go her mom said, "Okay. That's enough for tonight or someone will never get to sleep!"

"Ahhh! Okay," Chloe said knowing that really meant 'enough'.

"Tell David thank you and give him a hug, okay?" her mom said.

The little girl threw her arms around his neck and said, "G'night T-Rex man!"

He smiled and said, "Good night, Miss Chloe."

Randi tucked her in and kissed her, too, and after turning out the light, Eaton took her hand and said, "I could get used to that, too."

Randi stopped them in the hallway, turned to face him, then looked into his eyes.

"I love you, David," she said without warning and with that same kind of sincerity.

"I love you, too," he told her, never having felt it any more in his entire life. It was exactly how he'd felt when he'd said that to Ruby all those many years ago, and this time, it may have even been more intense.

"I'm not sure I can wait until the weekend," she told him as they went down the stairs together.

This time, he didn't ask her if she was sure. He knew she was, and he knew he was, too.

"I'd love to stay with you," he told her.

"Then do stay with me, David," she said at the bottom of the stairs. "Please?"

Chloe was fast asleep a few minutes later, and shortly after that, her mother was in bed with the only other man she'd ever loved. Both of them loved the other with pure abandon as they tried to fill the holes in their souls, letting the other's love...slake their thirst.

The kissing was long and deep followed by oral pleasuring that brought David close to an orgasm and Randi to two of them before they moved on to the actual lovemaking.

"David? Can someone really die from happiness?" she asked rhetorically after her third time as he, too, came so hard it surprised him.

"I don't know, but if they can, I believe we may both no longer be alive," he said, not worrying about mentioning the subject of death anymore.

"David?" she asked again.

"Yes?"

"I could get used to this."

"Hmmm. I was just thinking the same thing," he told her.

"David?" she said again.

"Yes?"

"I love you even more now."

"Me, too," he told her.

"So...would you mind loving me...even more?" she said with a smile.

Unbelievably, he felt himself getting hard again and said, "Why, I believe that just might be possible!"

Randi moaned loudly as he climbed on top of her and kissed her softly.

"Mmmm. Just like that...please!"" she whispered as he entered her again and began pounding her very-wet pussy causing her to cry out softly as he filled her completely.

As the days turned into weeks, Eaton's father slowly slipped away even as his love for this beautiful, much-younger woman and her sweet little girl grew exponentially.

By Spring, Randi was able to go back to work as a chemist for a local laboratory working on cancer research, and Eaton began working on a book he felt had a good chance of getting published.

Two months later, his father needed full-time care, and two months after that, was unable to speak. His particular form of ALS was bulbar which affected the ability to swallow and was considered to be the worst form although that was debatable.

Once his father had someone to care for him 24-7, Eaton accepted Randi's invitation to move in with her, and he was able to stay with Chloe until she started Kindergarten in the Fall.

It was six weeks later, and just before Christmas, that David Eaton lost the best friend and role model he'd ever had, and he was amazed at strong his mother was through it all. She refused to cry, knowing her husband was no longer suffering, and if heaven was real, in a better place.

Mac and Zack flew out for Christmas, and on Christmas Eve, David Eaton asked Randi to marry him with all of the people he loved surrounding him.

Randi had tears in her eyes as she said, "Yes!" with trembling hands and a heart full of love for the most wonderful surprises she could have ever imagined—an unlikely college professor named David Eaton who shared virtually all of the same values as her, and who loved her daughter like his own.

It was two days later that Mac, along with Zack, asked her father what he thought about the four of them getting married in the same ceremony.

"No. We couldn't do that," her father said. "That's your day. It's for you two."

"David?" Zack said. "We've talked about this several times, and nothing would make us happier. And it would be a memory we'd treasure the rest of our lives."

"Right!" Mac chimed in. "Dad, you're my hero just as Grandpa was yours. And we can do it out here because...."

Zack smiled and said, "I just accepted a job here in the Seattle area so McKenna and I will be staying."

Eaton's mother tried not to tear up, but it was a losing battle now that her son and granddaughter would be living near her again, too. And that meant a possible future great-grandchild, a thought that helped heal the pain she was feeling.

"Honey?" he asked Randi.

Before he could even formally pose the question she said, "Yes. Absolutely. I think it's a very romantic idea, sweetheart."

He looked over and saw his mother smiling and nodding at the idea.

"Well, okay then! Let's get married! Together!" Eaton said as everyone moved in close for a group hug as the new family celebrated the best Christmas any of them could ever remember.