[March 2002  Home]

DINO

A whole year.  It has flown by.  The good and the bad... time away at work.  Time at home.  Loving.  Living.  Fighting... making up.  Heh.  A whole year of little details.  I almost cannot believe how full my life is.  My family is thriving.  My business is growing.  My best friend and partner just got back from eloping to the British Virgin Islands where he got finally got Annie to make an honest man of him.  Heh. 

Heather and I, we knew it wasn't going to be much longer for him.  He's been my best friend for a decade and a part of our close family for the last year.  He took to Heather and the peace she makes in our home like a duck to water.  He spent a lot of time with us and we both noticed how Annie's presence in his life affected him.  Damn.  I love watching a good man fall like that over a good woman.  Don't think his feet have touched the ground for weeks.  And it couldn't have happened to a more deserving man. 

Who would have ever believed two old soldiers like us could get so lucky?  Terry's sure the piper is going to come for us eventually.  Me?  I'm just grabbing up all the good things I can, determined to have loved as hard and as much as I can- when, and if, the piper ever comes for me.  My sweet Gen's legacy to me.  Glory in the good times.  Make as many as you can.  Hold onto them.  You never know how much of that precious time you're going to be granted so make the most of it. 

We've spent the year doing just that.  The business is growing but still in that phase where you have to really hump it hard to get it off the ground.  I spent so much time away from home, working.  She and Andy traveled with me as much as possible.  When it was too dangerous, they remained safe at home and we lived and loved from phone call to phone call and from letter to letter.

We have this game called favorites.  We always try to end every conversation with a question.  Heather started it.  One of her off-hand questions in bed one night.  I was scheduled to fly out the next morning for Munich... which usually means a late night for us.  We say our goodbyes in bed, not in the airport- So, there we were, talking and snuggling, all sex-rumpled and boneless when she rolls over and looks at me. 

"Tell me something about you I don't know."  

I chuckled.  "Like what?"  

She snuggled closer and sighed contentedly, playing with my hands.  "I don't know.  Anything."

That night I told her I liked lima beans.  She scrunched up her nose and made a face.  I asked her to tell me something I didn't know about her.  She grinned and said her favorite Winnie the Pooh character was Tigger.  And that's how it started.  Later it became this silly little thing we did when we had the time for a private call- it morphed into 'favorites'.  We'd always get in a 'what's your favorite..."  Something to think on while we were apart, you know?  Sometimes it was the answer that was surprising- and sometimes it was just fun thinking up the questions.

Favorite color?  Green. (mine)

Favorite body part of the opposite sex?  Hands.  (hers)

Favorite flower?  Cherry blossoms.  (mine)

Favorite book?  Lucifer's Hammer.  (hers)

Favorite pastime?  Waking the neighbors.  (mine)  Hers too, come to think of it.  Heh.    

And then there were the letters.....  

Dean,

Do you ever just... Damn....  Just damn.  All.  Your.  Fault.  

*   *   *

Vulnerable.  That's how he made her feel.  Vulnerable.  Walking toward her in that slow, easy way he has.  People always say 'he moved with a predatory grace' or 'he prowled like panther'.  Not him.  He moved like a man.  A man intent on the woman in his sights.  Head cocked, bit of a swagger.  For all his quiet strength, he's got a cocky streak.  She finds it incredibly attractive.  He takes another step forward.  She takes another step back.  Feels the first of the flight of steps bump her heels.  Her hand reaches for the support of the railing.  The smooth wood is cold under her fingers.  It slides under her hand as he backs her up the stairs.

It has been a long day.  His gray suit is still impeccable but she can see the shadow of stubble along his jaw.  It makes her shake.  HE makes her shake.  He is still walking toward her, dressed for the day while she is naked.  He is crowding her.  Driving her before him.  Up.  Up.  Her panties dangle from his fingers as he starts climbing the stairs.  She's on the landing now, still walking backwards.  Breathing hard.  Eyes locked to his.  More stairs.  She clears the last of them and feels the upstairs carpet under her bare feet.  In another few steps, her back touches the wall.

Vulnerable.  That's how he makes her feel.  Vulnerable.  He's at the top of the steps now.  His woman is there, back to the wall.  No place to hide.  Naked before his gaze.  Waiting for him.  He is before her suddenly, pulling her into his arms, pressing her back against the unforgiving surface of the wall.  She can feel the panties still in his hand tickle her back as he wraps his arm around her.  The cool, moist autumn air clings to his clothes.  A sharp fresh scent fills her head and the fine wool feels cold against her bare flesh.  A rumble of contentment breaks from his throat as he lowers his head and nuzzles her neck before he takes her mouth with his- 

*   *   *

That's where I woke up.  Pity it happened before it got really good.  Figured I might as well share it with you since you were there too.  Heh.  Wish you were here with me now, husband.  My heart is full but my arms are empty.  The bed is too big without you.  Counting the days 'till you come home.      

Sweet dreams,
Heather  

God.  Half way around the world from her and just reading her words on the page had the power to make me hard, but more importantly, they kept me connected to her.  Mostly they were sweet.  Sometimes sad.  Sometimes so fucking hot I actually broke a sweat reading them.  But always, her spirit, her deep love for me came shining through each and every word.  She was the light that guided this wandering soldier home. 

Heather, my love, my woman...

I feel your pain! This is my version of that dream...

*  *  *

Needy. It's all he ever seems to feel when he first sees her. Like there'd never be enough time in all the world for him to get every single thing he wanted from her.

And in this time of returning home from a day that had begun too early and involved too many rude people in his path, to come home and find her defenseless? He never even stops to care or wonder why she was running through the house with only those little lace panties on. The black ones. The ones that stand out stark in contrast to her skin and yet never fail to look like they belong on a woman with hair so rich and dark.

She stops dead in her tracks when he opens the door. That blush she does... Does she have any earthly idea of how it can make him feel? How he knows he's going to want to find out if she's blushing because she's nervous or because she's thinking something she's still thinking she shouldn't be thinking? He likes that about her. The way she has of being so innocent and yet so damned inquisitive. She might surprise herself at some of her thoughts, desires, fantasies. But, she delights him with them...  especially the ones she has such trouble telling him.

He tells her to take the panties off. Now. He sees the breath she holds in at that. He sees the fire in her eyes. It's as if he can smell her excitement from here. He begins to stalk her and she hands him the panties and then backs up. He lets her recede from him... far enough until he can begin the pursuit.

Watching her. The way her little hands clutch for support before one of them finds the railing of the stairs. When he puts his hand on the railing as he begins his ascent, chasing after her, his own hand catches the lingering feeling of warmth she's left behind in the wood. He is so close to her; every inch he moves closer crowds her and she keeps trying to back away.

She bumps back into the wall at the top of the landing and he still moves in on her. Trapping her there. Using his body's power to shape her response to him. Knowing what he'll find when his fingers touch her skin and feel her pulse flipping at a rapid beat to reveal her thrill at this danger.

Needy. Always needy around her. Who wouldn't be? A woman like this... she captures a man's heart and he is never free from her again. He grabs her rough into his arms, holding back some of his need, translating the rest of it into the hardness of his cock that just for this insane moment would dominate her entire body if it could. By the time he kisses her, all that's in his mind is that his need has been fulfilled because it's her body he's wrapped around and her spirit that's wrapping around him.. Keeping him safe. God, but he needs her.

* * *

I woke up in a pitiful state. God, but I needed you.  Four more days, honey.  

Love,
Dean

Sometimes, I get those letters deep in the field and they sustain me.  Sometimes, I get them at my office downtown when I've just been gone a few hours.  I am absolutely crazy-wild, head-over-heels in love with my wife.  And somehow, I am lucky enough to be loved the same way in return.   

This past year- it was our year.  Learning each other's little details.  Making a few of our own together. 

London.  We flew over on this beautiful private jet chartered by a company we were romancing.  While the old man looked after Andy, I 'persuaded' Heather to let me fuck her in the lav.  Wasn't sure she'd go for it... but I had this fantasy.... that started with a snap and ended with a pinch and a laugh.  She blew my mind.  I blew hers.  Terry looked like he wanted to blow his stack.  Heh. 

Sausalito.  We camped out on this private beach I know.  Worn out from a day playing in the sand and the sun, Andy crashed out in the tent.  I made love to my wife under the stars in the flickering firelight and felt like a kid again myself. 

Narita.  Gateway to Japan.  Gateway to my past.  We spoke of Gen.  I told her things I never thought I'd be able to give a voice to.  Afterwards, I took a walk - alone- and gave the two rings I'd had commissioned for Gen and I back to the ocean in much the same way I'd once given up the ashes of the last of our possessions to the wind in Sausalito.    

Paris.  Had a job in Dubrovnik that went bad.  Really bad.  I couldn't wait to get home.  Had her fly to Paris to meet me.  I needed her.  The sex was rough and wild and desperate.  She didn't come.  I did.  It was the first time I took without giving.  The first time I let her be strong when I couldn't.  The first time I let her carry me.   

Stuttgart.  That's where we perfected our penchant for taking naughty pictures with famous statues.  Nothing too crude-  Shots of her perched on a statue's knee or reaching around for a teasing grope.... shots of me copping a feel of marble breasts or with my finger up a stone nose.  This one absolutely hilarious shot of Andy looking up a bronze skirt.  Is he my boy, or what?

Madrid.  Fucking Madrid.  Thigh-high red leather fuck-me boots and a blindfold.  Jesus.  That's a trip I'll never forget.  My wife is a wild woman- and the best part is that nobody knows it but me.  She just needed the right man to make her fly.  One she knows will never let her fall.  One who knows she will never let him fall. 

And then there's Andy.  Growing like a weed.  Looking more and more like a real little person every day and less and less like a little baby.  Talking up a storm.  Regularly tying me in knots.  Heh.  He can still make me blush.  I'm learning though.  He's become obsessed with the idea of having a little brother.  Wanted to know if Heather and I could get him one.  Of course we've talked about it.  She's young still and we wanted some time for ourselves first.  Selfish, but true. 

Do I want to fill her up with my baby?  You fucking bet I do.  We talk about it more and more these days, usually late at night after we've made love and I'm spooned up behind her with my hand between her legs, cupping her where she's wet with me.  In those moments, feeling so close to her- we can't help but engage in those 'what if' sort of conversations.  If it happens, neither of us would be disappointed- but we decided not to actively try for another year or so. 

Meanwhile, I am getting experience of a different sort, fielding Andy's questions.  Last time it was at McDonald's.  He saw this woman who had to have been like 13 months pregnant, I swear.  She was as big as a house.  Which, as I'm sure you could guess, made me feel all soft and warm when I thought about what my wife might look like carrying my baby.  And of course, it made Andy ask about a hundred questions.  Loudly.

"Why's that lady so fat, Dad?"  

"She's not fat, buddy."  Heather smiled at me and I saw a flash of longing in her eyes.  "She's got a baby in there."  We'd had an abbreviated version of the birds and the bees talk already but I wasn't really sure he'd grasped the concept. 

His eyes got huge.  "How'd it get in there?!"  

Damned if I didn't blush to the roots of my hair, right there in the Playplace.  Jesus.  Heather saved me.  "The Daddy gives it to her."  My hand found hers under the table.

"How?"  He paused, a French fry half way to his mouth.  I think I was as curious as he was.  I couldn't wait to hear how she'd answer that question.    

"The Daddy puts a seed inside her and the Mommy takes care of it so it grows into a baby."  Not a bad explanation.  Wish I'd thought to have put it that way when he asked me about it. 

He thought that one over a minute.  "How's it get out?"

Now, that's one I could answer.  Heh.  "Same way it gets in, buddy."

Heather swatted me with a giggle.  I was all set to distract Andy with the toy that came in his Happy Meal, but his attention had already been nabbed by a cute little dark haired girl playing on the slide.  He was off like a shot.  Heh.  What is it with O'Leary men and dark haired girls?

It was one of the best years of my life, but not without its share of problems too.  The usual married people stuff.  Plus some shit I really hadn't been looking forward to dealing with.  Family stuff, you know?  And I mean Family.  As in The Family.      

I'm talking about Curry, of course.  It was only a matter of time before we ran across him somewhere- which was part of the reason I steered us well clear of the official Family gatherings.  It's not that I'm not afraid of him.  I'm secure in my marriage.  I trust my wife.  It was him I didn't trust. 

I'd given some thought to what meeting him might be like.  Tried to work out all the various scenarios.  I prefer to be prepared and I will not have him upsetting her.  Not to mention it might be a little difficult for me to play the happy clueless husband.  She isn't aware that I have put two and two together.  I don't want to embarrass her - or myself - by acting like a dick.  Not my style anyway.  Then again, it's not my style to just roll over, either.   

It's not jealousy.  Well, OK, it is a little.  But I'm a big boy.  I can accept that she has known other men before me.  Probably not many.  I'm guessing two, maybe three... but it'd be pretty hypocritical of me considering my own rather checkered past to condemn either of them for that.  What really bugs me is that I know he took advantage of her.  She was seventeen for Christ's sake.  Young and alone in a strange country.  He should have been looking out for her- not fucking her. 

And that's the bottom line right there.

But even with all the thought I gave this particular topic, I was still taken aback by what actually happened when we did finally cross paths.  And it happened as strangely as only real life can.  A chain of events set in motion by something completely innocuous.   

It started on a Tuesday.  I wasn't due home until Thursday but my schedule got pushed back.  I thought it would be fun to surprise them.  You know- toy in my bag for Andy... flowers in hand for her... I bounced up the steps thinking about how much fun I was going to have playing with my boy and then while he slept, playing with my wife...  Heh. 

It was even better than I imagined.  I snuck in... saw Andy asleep on the couch.  The family room was a disaster... looked like a storage unit had thrown up in it... boxes everywhere.  Heather was in the middle of it, going through some of her old things, repacking- organizing, etc.  She looked so cute- and young.  Hair up in a ponytail.  No makeup.  Stopped in the middle of what she was doing, reading something she'd pulled out of one of the boxes.  I didn't pay much attention to what was in her hands.  She was wearing this tank top and these short little shorts that showed off her ass and all I could think about was how I hadn't touched her in nearly two weeks. 

I snuck up on her... one hand covered her mouth to muffle her squeak of surprise- the other copped a good feel of her cute little backside as I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her neck.  She jumped a mile, book forgotten in her fingers as she turned in my arms and gave me one hell of a welcome home kiss.  We didn't even make it to the bedroom.  We barely made it to the bathroom.  I fucked her there against the door.  Hard and fast and hungry with her little voice whispering crude encouragement in my ear and me panting against her throat as I shot what felt like fucking gallons inside her. 

God, it was good.

My legs actually shook.  I felt weak.  Sweaty and flushed, we rested against the door, breathing hard and grinning like two naughty teenagers.  I chuckled softly.  "Yeah, so... you know... I think this is that part where I tell you I missed you, honey."

She giggled into my neck.  "Gee... you did?  I couldn't tell."  I pinched her butt for her sass and she giggled harder, pulling back to kiss my chin before looking into my eyes with a playful grin.  "Can you even last five minutes?"

I chuckled back, remembering how she'd teased me with that the first day we'd ever made love.  And you know, it's been a year and there were times when I still couldn't.  She just wound me up too much.  I gave her a kiss and retorted dryly, "I'll work on it."

She grabbed my butt and squeezed.  "Don't you dare!"  We had a private little laugh over it.  She liked being romanced- but she also liked it when I went all caveman on her.  That made her come harder for me than anything else.  I growled playfully and bit her neck, reaching for a washrag to clean us both up a bit.  God, we were a mess.  Come everywhere.  Pants around my ankles.  The flowers, her book and my bags were scattered on the floor at our feet.  So, yeah... not my smoothest moment.  Heh.  Probably a pretty honest one though. 

I stepped out of my pants (they were beyond saving) and bent to pick up the flowers.  Presented them with a little flourish.  They were a bit bruised.  Like her mouth.  She was most beautiful to me like this- rumpled and glowing after we'd made love.  I kissed her, tenderly this time, and brushed my fingertips over her flushed cheek.  "I love you like this..."  The truth now.  A humble whisper.  Not trying to be smooth or slick.  "So beautiful it hurts to breathe when I look at you."

Tears in her eyes at my soft admission.  But her words were light and playful.  "You old charmer." 

I sighed and went boneless against her.  "Well.... yeah...."  Gave her a grin... and then spoiled the moment.  Have to keep her on her toes, right?  "So, any chance I could get a beer?" 

She pushed at me and rolled her eyes with a laugh.  "Are we negotiating?"

I snorted.  "Hell, no.  I'm begging, baby."  Heh.  "I think I'm dehydrated-"

She gave me this dirty little giggle.  (God, I fucking love that.)  "After that performance, I'm not surprised..."

We were still teasing each other when I bent to get her book off the floor.  I turned it over in my hands.  No title?  Weird.  Then it hit me.  Must be one of her old journals.  I know she keeps them.  I'd had one made for her in Madrid earlier this year; crafted out of the same red leather as the boots I bought her.  She likes to write in a journal from time to time.  Not every day like a diary... more like a record of important things she wants to remember.  It's the place I leave little notes for her when I go away.  I skip a head a few pages and leave something written in there for her to find after I'm gone. 

I was a little surprised when her eyes widened and she grabbed the journal from me, hugging it to her breast with this embarrassed look.  She wouldn't meet my eyes.  Instead she just took the flowers and made an excuse about how she was just going to go to the kitchen and put them in water and get a beer for me while I showered.  When I got out of the shower, the flowers were in a pretty vase on the table and she had a cold beer cracked for me... but there was no sign of the journal. 

I said nothing.  But she knew I knew she'd been weird about it.  I found out why two nights later.  I was leaving in the morning.  Munich again.  We were cuddled up in bed.  She reached over and pulled the journal out of her nightstand.  She handed it to me with a little flush.  "About this...."  I raised my eyebrows but didn't open the journal.  "I'm sorry I was weird about it...." 

"It's OK, honey."  I wasn't sure what was in it, but from her blush, I could guess it was about a man.  I could understand her wanting to keep it private.  I'd written some stuff to other women over the years I certainly wouldn't want her to ever read.

"It's just embarrassing...but it's probably not what you think..."  OK, now she was making me curious.  Not that I wanted to know what she'd written about other men, but she was just so damned adorable squirming like she was.  She opened it and showed me the date.  I did the math in my head and smiled as it dawned on me what this was.  "I wrote it when I was sixteen... stupid teenage fantasy stuff...." she finally blurted out. 

"Yeah?"  Ahhh, right then.  I wrote some shit at sixteen I definitely wouldn't want to ever see the light of day.  Still, I have to admit, the thought of reading her prurient little thoughts at sixteen probably gave me a bigger thrill than it should have.

"May I?"  I gestured to the book.  She nodded.  I thumbed through it a little, getting a laugh out of some of the mundane stuff she'd noted... but I have to admit, I was skimming for something naughty.  Come on.  What man wouldn't?  I found it.  Actually, there was more of it in there than I'd have guessed.  It wasn't that graphic though.  Most of it was hearts and flowers and knights on white horses sort of stuff. 

Some of it definitely got to me though.  One fantasy in particular.  It wasn't as detailed as the others.  Less hearts and flowers.  More real.  It was just a few lines, really.

I want him.  Sometimes just being in the same room with him makes me so wet.  He would just die if he knew I thought about him when I touch myself; that I dream about what it would be like to get on my knees in front of him.  Other girls say it's dirty but I want to smell him and taste him and feel his big hands in my hair.  I heard him once talk about how this girl made him shake doing that to him.  I want to make him shake.

Jesus.  On her knees for him.  That line rang in my head and went straight to my dick.  The words showed her naiveté but gave a glimpse at her sensuality too.  Taste.  Smell.  Touch.  Pretty revealing stuff.  I can see why she was embarrassed.  I smiled and moved to hand the book back to her.

She shook her head and pushed it back at me.  "Keep reading."

I didn't really have the desire to read more.  I'd much rather spend my last hours with her playing out those fantasies of hers in real life than reading about them in an old journal.  Her awakening sexuality didn't interest me as much as getting to experience it in the flesh, so to speak.  I humored her, however, turned the page and read on.  Nearly had a fucking heart attack when I saw my name there.  Dean.  Christ.  It was a fantasy about her Dean.  She thought that stuff about her Dean at sixteen?  Jesus!  I wasn't sure whether it turned me on, made me jealous of myself, or shocked me.  Maybe all three.

"That's why I was embarrassed," she finally said.

Whoa.  Just whoa.  I ran my hand over my face and scooted back up against the headboard, tossing the journal on the nightstand.  Wasn't too sure what to say to that.  Took a deep breath.  Let it out slowly.  Finally just decided to go for broke.  She shouldn't have to be out on a limb by herself here.  I'm just as guilty.  More guilty actually.  I was a man then.  She was just a girl. 

"Truth?"  She nodded.  "I fantasized too."  I felt like a dirty old man for admitting it, but yeah... I thought about my Heather that way.  Thought of her at sixteen... and seventeen... and eighteen...  Never EVER acted inappropriately, not even once... but I sure as fuck thought about it.

Her eyes got wide.  "You did?"  Fuck yes, I did.  I nodded.  Felt my cheeks get a little hot.  Shit.  "What did you think about?" 

Oh fuck, no.  No way.  "Honey-"

"Come on... I told you..."  she touched me in that soft little way she has that just gets to me so good.  I moved over her, settling between her legs.  Kissing on her.  Starting to get hard. 

I sighed.  Dangerous ground here.  I didn't want to open this particular door.  "Baby, I don't want to talk about this-"

"Tell me," she whispered.

I felt a little flare of anger.  Got a little rougher with her.  Ground into her hard and pinned her hands, kissing on her neck and growled, "Fine- you want to know?  I thought about fucking her, OK?  Fucking and sucking and eating that sweet little pussy of hers until she screamed my name.  That what you wanted to hear?  That thinking that shit about her made me so hard I could pound nails with my dick?!" 

She groaned and went wild under me.  "Fuck me!"  I'm not sure how it happened.  One minute we were having a heated conversation.  The next, I had her on her face under me and was nailing her to the bed.  Hands on her hips.  Jerking her up to her knees.  She struggled purposefully, forcing me to be rougher, all the while telling me to fuck her harder.  I pounded her until she damn near screamed.  I wasn't sure who we were fucking, each other or ghosts from our past.  I was going to make her come though, whoever she was.  Reached under her and pawed over her clit.  Rudely.  Almost roughly.  Sweat dripping from me to her.  Grunting.  Writhing.  Straining together so hard.

She gasped and tightened up on me with his low harsh cry.  I didn't even stop for her.  Just held her where I needed and used her tight contractions to get myself off.  My disregard for her in that moment only seemed to make her pleasure more intense, which fucking did it for me.  I came like a freight train.  Raw and ugly and so hard it felt like I was turning inside out. 

We crashed into the pillows in a sweaty tangled heap, clinging to each other where we'd been trying to fuck each other to death a few seconds before.  I took a shaky breath.  "Jesus.  What the fuck was that?"

She made this noise.  Not even a word.  Just a sound.  "Hey, you OK?  I didn't-"

She giggled.  Fucking giggled!  "I'm fine... better than fine.... God, you're an animal!"  She said it with admiration.  I winced but there was a healthy measure of pride in there somewhere as well.  What man doesn't like to know he rocks his woman's world? 

I gathered her up and held her close.  We fell into a comfortable silence that I broke a little while later.  "You know.... that stuff I thought about her... it wasn't always like that."  It wasn't even usually like that.  I smoothed her hair back tenderly.  "Mostly I just wanted to protect her.  Make sure nothing bad ever touched her life."  And that included me and my dirty little thoughts. 

I felt her smile against my neck.  "I felt like that about him too."

You know, it wasn't our usual goodbye... not by a long shot... but I think it was one that was a long time in the making.  And who would have guessed that six hours later, the new peace we'd found with each other would be shattered when Lachlan Curry walked into our lives. 

[March 2002 Dulles International Airport.]             

TERRY

Heather and Andy almost never come to the airport to see us off.  Dino doesn't like them in the city unescorted but even he breaks his own rules now and again.  Usually by this point he's got his game face on, but it was clear this morning he was having difficulty letting go.  Something was different with him and Heather.  Not too sure what to make of it but he could hardly keep his hands off her.  I don't mean in a lewd sense.  I mean he was wearing his bloody heart on his sleeve and you could damn near see the bond shining between them. 

I wondered if she was pregnant.  I might have been an absent father for most of my son's life but I do remember how hard it had been for me to leave Penny that first time knowing my baby was growing under her heart.  Too bad my Annie girl was on assignment.  She'd have gotten a kick out of watching the two of them.  Not to mention I wouldn't have minded getting a sweet little sendoff myself.

We were in the lounge waiting on our flight.  It was a bit late coming in.  Typical.  So instead of our usual curt business chatter, we were having this little domestic moment.  Well, they were having what looked to be a romantic moment.  Somehow, I wound up with loo detail.  That's the downside to being the favorite uncle.  Andy announces he has to wee.  Heather jumps up to take him and he shouts, "NO!  I want Uncle Terry to go!" 

Dino just gave me this look and pulled her down onto his knee.  He will pay for that somewhere over the Atlantic.  Count on it, mate.  So, off we went.  A few minutes later, we were on our way back but as my eyes fell on them from across the room, I saw something had changed.  He was no longer kicked back, relaxed and loose.  He was on edge.  It put me on edge too.  Something had him worked up and until I knew what it was, I was on full alert.     

His smile was too pleasant.  And he was sitting like he had an iron bar up his arse.  I know the look.  It had K and R face stamped all over it.  Whatever it was, he didn't want her to know it was bugging him- which only ramped me up more.  I hooked a finger into Andy's jumper to keep him from running off and waited for Dino to make eye contact with me.  He was looking over the room.  I was too, wondering what had him wanting to circle up the wagons.... and then I heard it.  From behind my left shoulder came this greeting. 

"G'day, mate!"  For half a second, I felt this warm start.  Automatic reaction to hearing an Aussie accent.  Like it's a taste of home and I've been away too long.  A second later it clicked into place for me and I turn around.  I was right.  Curry.  Bloody perfect.     

"Mate."  We shook hands warmly.  I know Dino's got his issues with Curry and rightly so, if his suspicions are correct, but I've also got enough distance from that particular situation to be a bit more fair-minded.  Dino's a fair man too, but I reckon he's a bit close to this one to be quite so magnanimous about that whole innocent until proven guilty bit.  Besides, I rather liked Curry.  And even if he did do what Dino suspected, that water has been under the bridge a bloody long time.  I smiled. 

"Surprised to see you here, Curry."  I took in his uniform.  Pilot's cap tucked under one arm.  Wings on his shoulder.  "I take it you're here for business not pleasure?"

He nodded.  "Life of a corporate pilot, mate.  I spend more time waiting on the bigwigs than I bloody do in the air."  He smiled down at Andy.  "And who is this fine little bloke?"

I looked back over to Dino.  Heather hadn't seen us yet but he sure as hell had.  I saw Curry follow my gaze and pasted on my best smile.  "This is Andy O'Leary.  Dino's boy."  I hoped he didn't start figuring the maths on that one.  We crossed a little over a year ago.  Andy's nearly four.  Not exactly a something I wanted to explain.  Not something I would explain.  "Andy, this is your Uncle Lachlan."

Good ol' Lochie squatted down and they shook hands.  Said a hello.  Andy said, "You look like Uncle Terry."

Curry grinned.  "That's because we're brothers, mate."  Fair enough.  

That did it for Andy too.  He was off.  "I want a brother too.... I asked my Dad to get me one.  Like we got our dog from the pound."  We both had a laugh over that one. 

"Kids, hey?"  We walked over to where Dino and Heather were sitting.  No way of getting out of it.  Pity.  Of all mornings for them to come to see us off.  Christ.  I was thinking the piper was most definitely playing Dino's tune.  Poor bastard.  Might as well get this over with.  Do my good deed for the day.  Help out my best mate.  Andy ran to Heather.  I took advantage of her moment of distraction to introduce Curry. 

Dino's smile was as fake as his pleasant hello and quasi-friendly handshake.  Though he was the very picture of cordiality, I'd known Dino long enough to be aware he was struggling with the desire to take a swing.  I was thinking: cool it, mate... you are going to blow this.... and then Curry said something that had me wanting to take a swing at him too.

Heather raised her face from Andy and stood, turning to us, and out of Curry's mouth came, "And who is this vision?  Rumor in the Family has it you've both tied the knot recently...  Come on now... whose hand do I shake first...."  Not so much as a flicker of recognition on his open face as he smiled at her. 

There was this moment where I swear I could hear the blood in Dino's veins boil.  Heather's eyes shot from his to mine with one very clear message.  If either of us said one word she would kill us where we stood.  I think she very well might have done, but instead, she simply smiled at Curry and extended her hand with more grace than I think either of us expected.

"I'm Heather O'Leary.  Dino's wife."  Her words seemed to flick the switch on Dino's shorting circuits.  But probably not as much as watching Curry lean in and give her a congratulatory kiss on the cheek before he pumped Dino's hand and then turned to me, offering up his good wishes for my own recent nuptials.

I risked a glance at Heather.  She was pale but steady... and as she'd done when she met me, I noticed she'd moved into Dino's touch.  His hand was at the small of her back, rubbing reassuringly.  I wasn't sure whether it was for him or for her.  It also didn't escape my notice that she had her arm around him as well.  Her knuckles were white.      

Thankfully, the piper decided to cut us a break.  Andy dragged Heather away as another plane passed by the wall of glass in preparation for takeoff.  I could hear him babbling on about this and that and asking a hundred questions.  'How do planes fly, Mum?  What keeps them in the air? Why don't they fall down...' 

The three of us made small talk for a few minutes until Dino was certain his family was well enough away from us that they wouldn't drift back and then he excused himself, claiming the call of nature.  I didn't think I'd see him again until takeoff. 

"Bit stiff, your mate," Curry observed after he'd gone.  I couldn't really argue that, now could I?  Better stiff than taking a swing, however.  "His wife's a right looker, though..."  I didn't like how his eyes followed her and lingered on her curves, but I don't suppose I can really fault him for that.  He's right.  She is a beautiful woman.  "And their boy... cute as a button."  We chatted on.  Family.  Work.  Women.  The usual.  Just two blokes from Oz having a bit of a yarn.  Take my concern for Dino and Heather out of the equation and I actually found that I enjoyed myself. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Dino had rejoined his family by the glass.  They made a sweet picture- if one discounted what was probably running through both their minds.  A moment later, our flight was announced over the loudspeaker.  Now boarding our golden age flyers and first class rows one through four for flight...

That's usually where I razz Dino.  He's a year closer to the golden age flyers than I am.  Today, however, it wasn't quite so amusing.  I shook hands again with Curry.  "Right then.  That's me, mate.  Duty calls."

We both looked over in time to catch Dino plant a five-alarm stunner on Heather... which she returned, I might add.  Curry chuckled as they broke apart and she pulled him back in for another kiss.  It looked chaste enough on the surface but the way her hands gripped him so hard gave her away.  Lochie chuckled harder.  "Reckon I called that one.  If your mate wasn't stiff before, I bet he is now."  We shared a laugh.  "I'd tell you to pass on a goodbye for me, but I don't think I could top that last one."  He gave me a cheeky grin and disappeared through the doors to the pilot's lounge.

I didn't wait for Casanova.  I boarded.  He joined me twenty minutes later, just before takeoff, griping about how I'd claimed the aisle seat and left him the shitty one by the window.  Too bad for him.  I'd done enough good deeds for the day.  Neither of us spoke about Curry.  All Dino said was 'fuck' in this quiet voice under his breath and then he asked the stewardess for a scotch.

We taxied.  He waved to Andy and Heather.  We were in the air an hour before it occurred to me he'd left his young wife and small son behind in the airport along with Curry who was waiting indefinitely on his employer.  Well, I suppose that explained the other two scotches he ordered... as well as the one I was about to order for myself.