PART ONE

The private room of the pub down the street from Mel's flat was heaving with young women; it would have taken a brave man to walk into that lion's den on the cold December evening. There must have been about twenty women there, many of whom hadn't seen each other for years, and they had much catching up to do. At least twenty separate conversations were taking place; some women seemed capable of conducting two entirely different conversations at the same time; others only had to say a few words and their listener could complete the sentence for them. Hysterical laughter kept breaking out all over and tables were littered with bottles of wine and cocktails. It was Annie's hen night.

Not that she had entirely wanted an evening like this. Since Terry had made his devastating surrender and proposed to her on one knee in front of an entire lecture hall full of cheering undergrads, Annie had been on some plateau high above the world and the thought of a bawdy, raunchy night out with the girls seemed to be some kind of betrayal of her earth-shattering discovery of what it was to be in love and loved back. So what if she sounded cheesy- Annie was so completely in love with this man that she didn't care what her hard-nosed streetwise friends thought of her. More than that was the revelation that Terry felt the same about her; this man who had seemed so reluctant to mention the words 'love' or 'commitment' now suddenly seemed to have undergone a Damascene conversion and was showering her in a flood of tenderness that must have been chained up somewhere inside him for years.

But Mel had been persuasive; she owed it to them to give her a good send-off. For weeks Annie had been dreading it but now, fuelled by champagne cocktails, she was beginning to lose her inhibitions and enjoy the sheer lunacy of modern girls on the rampage. The air was blue with foul language and even dirtier conversation. Annie, ever the academic, was faintly amused at how some things never changed- Roman weddings had always included a loosening of restraint and a shocking level of bawdy innuendo. Was this how all societies coped with the official sanctioning of sexuality?

Before her on the table were an array of sex toys and other associated paraphernalia- some of the items were a complete mystery to Annie but she intended to investigate them at some later date; she could imagine Terry's reaction to playtime with these! Few of the girls had met her future husband either because they were not often in London or because he had been away when they had seen each other, but all were extremely curious. Annie said little except that he was perfect and they all mimicked throwing up; they weren't interested in the romantic stuff- they wanted some crude descriptions.

Mel decided to oblige. Standing on a chair, she proceeded to give a description of Terry, which required some very suggestive hand gestures and one of the larger vibrators that someone had brought as a gift.  Annie sat with her head in her hands but she was laughing helplessly; she certainly couldn't argue with her friend's eye for detail. Most of the girls were rolling about, almost crying when Mel launched into an impression of what it was like to spend a night in the room next door to Annie and Terry when you didn't have soundproofing or earplugs. She was acting out a dialogue, alternating from her version of Annie's orgasmic screams and crude encouragement and dropping to a deep bass making even cruder suggestions or grunts in a fake Aussie accent. The entire room was so caught up in the entertainment that they failed to notice the arrival of a young man into the proceedings.

Suddenly the sound system cut off and twenty pairs of eyes turned to the door. Standing there was a soldier, dressed in combats and black boots, hair shaved in a buzz cut and staring meanly at the assembled mob. He didn't look scared; maybe he should have been. Annie looked at Mel and said "I'll fucking kill you, Hamilton" as she realised what was in store. The young man strutted to the centre of the room and stood with his hands on his hips, legs apart and surveyed the scene. "Anyone here called Annie?" - the owner of the name announced herself with a groan. "I believe you like soldiers?" he grinned. Pushing the table out of the way, he walked up and stood before her, his groin inches from her face. "Big soldiers, so I hear!" he added.

A record started up and, to the tunes of an old Elkie Brooke's number, this young Adonis proceeded to strip, very slowly and completely without embarrassment, to the delight of the women.

He could have been the army- the way he broke through my lines.
He could have been a hurricane, the way he blew my mind!
He could have been an angel - Oh that man, he is so fine!

At this point soldier boy pulled Annie up and proceeded to grind against her, flashing his come on eyes and daring her to join in- she always accepted a challenge- and did.

He was just a pair of eyes that looked as if they knew me,
Till I began to realise he wasn't looking through me
And when he said hello
It felt like silk and lace
And I became a prisoner of the sweet smile on his face.
Right there I surrendered- there was no disgrace!

Then he spun Annie round and pressed against her back, rubbing her body in his hands while the other girls shouted suggestions at the pair. Annie surrendered, sliding her arms back around his neck and gyrating her butt against his groin.

He could have been the navy- he could have been the whole damn fleet!
He could have been a tidal wave- the way he swept me off my feet.
He could have been an angel- Oh, that man- he is so sweet!

Soldier boy lowered her back into the chair as he eased off the remaining item of his clothing- his pants- and rubbed his naked buttocks in her face, wearing nothing but a posing pouch and his boots.  His body was amazing- hard, toned, lean young muscle and he was a big boy just as he had promised. As the record died away, he slowly turned to face Annie and stood inches away from her. She blushed but stared his crotch out. Then she noticed something in the elastic at the front of his bulge. It was a slip of paper and it said 'Annie'- and an arrow pointed down. The handwriting was familiar. She couldn't resist and with a glance at the soldier, who was grinning provocatively, she took the paper and slipped it out.

It was a small folded note and said:

"Bet mine's bigger!" T.

Annie screamed. Of course, everyone wanted to know the contents of the note and Annie shook her head, tears of laughter running down her face at his cheek " Mel- did he cook this up?" Mel nodded, "With a bit of help from me!"

The 'soldier' spoke for the first time. "Are you up for it, love? Prove him wrong? Have a look. Dare you!" He licked his lips.

Annie weighed him up with a pensive look on her face. "I can't! We'll get arrested."

"No police 'ere, love. Come on- get 'em off."

Scanning the crowd for their reaction and getting a positive one, Annie breathed heavily and hooked her fingers down the front of the pouch, easing the leather from him and the girls whooped at the sight of him. Annie held up her hand for silence. She sat back and gave him a long hard look, leaning her head to one side with a little smile playing on her face. "Impressive- but I couldn't possibly compare without a feel."

"Feel away!" A gasp burst from the crowd and a few whistles.  

Annie flexed her fingers as if she were a pianist about to play and then she stroked his cock slowly and grasped it at the base, sliding her hand down his length between her thumb and forefinger. He was already showing his interest. Finally she took her left hand and cupped his balls as if weighing them in her hand. She grinned broadly.

"WELL?" voices shouted all around the room.

Smacking her lips, Annie stood up and said: "Beautiful specimen. Don't get many of them in a pound... but... my Terry is..." and she held out her thumb and forefinger about two inches, "... longer," and then she rolled her thumb and forefinger into a circle, "...thicker," and finally she cupped her left hand and made a weighing motion and said "... heavier..." and closed her eyes as if to recall him.

The room erupted and even the young man seemed to think her display was funny. 

"Then you won't be wanting to continue this somewhere else- on the house?" he enquired. She laughed and shook her head - nineteen other girls offered their services instead.

When he had managed (with some difficulty) to dress and leave, Annie whispered to Mel- "I don't believe you two. What did he say to you?"

"Exactly that. Get a stripper. Dressed as a soldier and shove this in his thongs, dare her to cop a feel! Oh, and get it on a film."

"Shit- you didn't?"

"Shit - I did!" said Mel, waving one of those tiny surveillance cameras of Terry's before her face. "This could well replace the porn films at his stag night." She laughed holding the camera away from Annie's snatching hands.

Annie groaned and then she suddenly thought. "His stag night? What the fuck will he get up to if he can set this up for me?" but decided to push that thought from her head. The last thing she had heard it was going to be either Amsterdam, Hamburg, or Bangkok- neither of which scenarios made her feel any better. Dino was making the plans and even Terry seemed unsure what to expect. As long as he was careful and didn't present her with the video evidence, she decided to let this one play its course.  Maybe it was the champagne cocktails but the thought of him, a bunch of his drunken buddies, and what they might get up to in the brothels of one of those cities was oddly arousing- although there was no way she was about to tell him that much.

PART TWO

Terry stood at the window of his hotel room in Manila and looked out at the early morning scene. He checked his watch and thought about what Annie might be doing and he grinned. Hope Mel had switched the fucking camera on- he did not want to miss this treat. Snapping out of his reverie, he turned back to his laptop to check his emails, swearing when he read the one from Lopez. The contact had refused to deal with him and was insisting on Terry only; he would have to stay on a couple of days more. He knew something like this would happen. Less than a week to go and he'd be lucky if he got back in time to pick his suit up, never mind have his last taste of freedom in the fleshpots of wherever Dino had decided on.

In retrospect, he thought that was probably a good thing. Terry wasn't sure he was comfortable with the traditional gang bang of modern stag nights any more- it was one thing to have Annie grope a stripper but he had lost his taste for casual sex. And he didn't particularly want to get off his head and wake up chained to a railing naked in some foreign capital- in some countries that could get him six months' hard labour. Still he knew he wouldn't back off if the occasion arose- he wasn't prepared to admit to his mates what was going on his head.

Lopez had said that there would be a further drop that evening around 8.30 and gave him an address where he might find the new frequencies. Terry spent a quiet day, browsing through shopping malls, half-heartedly looking for something to buy Annie but without any inspiration: he had showered her with sexy underwear, jewellery and flowers recently and wished he could think of something a little different as a wedding gift. The afternoon he spent by the pool, swimming and getting some sun; he didn't fancy arriving in Sydney after the wedding, white as a Pom.

After a shower and a shave, he ordered a light meal from room service, watched a tennis match on ESPN and checked the time. Eight. Time to go. Jumping a taxi at the hotel entrance, Terry gave the driver the address and the guy grinned but hit the road in a screech of tyres, typical Filipino style. The street was in the heart of the red light district, seedy girly bars giving way to even seedier sex clubs. The clientele was the usual mixture of tourists, expats and service men and the girls seemed to be getting younger and younger all the time. He found the number and stopped, alarm bells ringing.

The instructions had said first floor, Room 12 but it seemed a possible set up. Terry did not trust any drop that was not in public view. Lopez was shrewd but he lacked experience and he was not going to walk into this with his pants round his ankles. Skirting the block, he slipped down an alleyway and found the back entrance to the building he wanted. A quick check- the door was locked but it was rickety and gave in to his foot. Luckily the din from the bars at the front masked the noise of his entry.

The back door led in to a filthy hallway with a kitchen and a foul smelling toilet. Both were empty. Silently edging along the wall to the stairs, he heard voices on the landing and changed his mind. Back out in the yard, he scanned the upper storey and found an open window in darkness. Hoisting himself up on a broken down refrigerator in the yard, he pulled himself up onto the ledge and into the room. Terry estimated that he was about two doors along from the room with the voices.

Leaning against the wall, he eased open the door a few inches and checked the number- it was 14. No one was in the corridor. Pulling out a flick knife that he always carried (something that Annie had not yet discovered, he was glad to say) he opened it and edged down to the next room- 13. It appeared the room with the voices was number 12. Terry frowned- this was not making sense.

Outside room 12, he placed his ear against the door to catch the conversation. There were a few male voices mixed in with the singsong of the local girls' accent. It sounded like the beginning of a bit of fun and games. Then he caught the accent and a voice he knew well. With a silent groan at how near he had come to making a complete dick of himself, Terry realised that this was indeed a set up and it wasn't anything to do with the job. Trying the room next door, 13, he found it unlocked, sheathed his knife and he slipped in, intending to make his entrance through the window and salvage some pride by stealing up on them. But he wasn't as clever as he thought.

The moment he closed the door, the lights snapped on and Terry walked straight into three girls, naked apart from G-strings, and a further audience of Dino, Lopez and several other acquaintances that Dino had gathered together from the region.

"Took your fuckin' time, big guy. Thought you'd lost your nerve." Dino grinned.

"Fuck. Running a tape next door? I am losing it." Terry banged his head against the wall. 

"OK, ladies. This is the boy I was telling you about. Still a virgin. Needs some TLC. Let's see what you can do for him."

Terry held up his hands in surrender. "Give me a break, lads. No audience." They shook their heads. Terry groaned.

"Paid for this already. Want to make sure you get our money's worth. Deal is you do all three and the drinks are on us. You can't stand the pace- you pay - and we're drinking XO all night. At the Hilton. Bleed you fuckin' dry, we will." Dino chuckled.

"You serious?  Me pass up free cunt? OK, ladies. Be gentle with me!" Terry pulled off his jacket, Dino threw him a pack of three and the guys settled down to enjoy the show, drinking beer and running a book on how long he'd take till he shot his load. Suddenly Terry disentangled himself from the lady he was enjoying long enough to shoot them a look, "And if I find one of you has a fucking camera runnin- I'll ... but he didn't finish as one of the girls decided to occupy his mouth with something much more inviting.

PART THREE

Annie was curled up on the large sofa in front of the television, drinking a cup of cocoa. She was wrapped in a towelling robe and her hair was still damp. On her knee was a box of Thornton's truffles and she was snivelling into a wet tissue, as Gone with the Wind reached its denouement. It was one of those indulgent girls' nights in where you spoil yourself with all the treats normally not allowed. Added to that she was at her parents' house and her Mum was pampering her as she hadn't let her for years. Bliss.

Her sister Cat was there - it was ages since they had been in the family home together- almost a year in fact, last Christmas, but then Annie had been like a spectre at the feast, her head somewhere in Terry-land. As the credits rolled and the three women blew their noses enjoying the good weep and looking forward to Casablanca for part two of their moviethon, Annie's Mum launched into one of her usual accidental faux pas.

"You never told me how the hen night went?"

Annie choked on her cocoa and Cat snorted. "Go on, Annie. Tell Mum about that soldier you danced with..." Annie glared.

"I thought you were just having a private room. Did you go on to a club?"

"It was just a bit of fun, Mum." Annie hoped she would let it drop.

Her mother looked at her suspiciously. "He wasn't a stripper, was he? I've always been curious about those Chippendale types. They don't take it all off, do they?"

"Not usually, Mum, but Annie can be very persuasive." Cat teased.

"Annie, you didn't! What would Terry say?"

Annie giggled. "He'd be mortified, Mum. Still thinks I'm a virgin bride."

Her mother shot her a disapproving glance. She knew Annie had been living with Terry for months and she had been pregnant before... her mother still couldn't bring herself to think about what had happened last May. How had her daughter coped with it?

"Well, I don't think he'd like to think of you looking at a naked man. And you two can stop making fun of me behind my back! You think you know everything, don't you? Wait till you've been married as long as I have ..."

"Mum - Terry arranged the stripper if you must know. Stop treating him as though he is some sort of Sir Galahad. He's got you wrapped around his finger like every other woman he meets!" Annie laughed.

"So I can't like my future son-in-law? Would you prefer I played the nasty mother-in-law? And just because I'm fifty- five doesn't mean I've lost my taste for good-looking men. I just don't make it so obvious as you young women." Mum riposted. "Is he back yet? He's cutting it a bit fine, isn't he?"

"He got in this morning but I couldn't get hold of him. I think he's crashed. He was a bit cagey about Manila but I think something happened. He implied they had an emergency but I had the distinct impression he was lying. God knows what he got up to but his friend Dino was there, so I can imagine. You wouldn't think he was so saintly if you got the full story on that one!" Annie winked at Cat who mouthed 'stag night?' and Annie shrugged 'I think so.'

"When's he getting up?" Mum asked. The two younger women repressed smiles. Mum just kept coming out with them.

"Not until Friday.  He's got to leave everything settled at the office- they are already pulling faces at him being away for a month and of course Dino is also out of commission for a couple of days. Those bastards at Luthan don't seem to function in the real world. And he's got to pick Harry up on the way- they break up on the Thursday but Po-face insists she sees him on the Thursday night for an early Christmas celebration. She's had him for fifteen Christmasses and is making such a song and dance about this year. She really is a prize bitch."

"Annie, really, language! She's his mother. She will miss him."

"Like Terry hasn't every other year?"

"It's a no win situation, Annie. That's what divorce does. Can you imagine how Harry feels in the middle of that?" Cat, the primary school teacher, suddenly came over all psychobabble. Annie hated her in her family values mood.

"Right. She's still a bitch, though. She's had Terry by the balls for years. You know, he has to put up with all her shit or she stops him from seeing Harry. He walks on eggshells round her at times. I feel like slapping her face."

"You keep out, Annie. You will open your big mouth and make it worse. Terry won't be pleased with you if you cause trouble. This is not your business. He just needs your support and for you to make Harry welcome in your home." Cat counselled. Annie opened her mouth to reply but the phone rang.  Mum answered it and immediately started cooing and giggling. "Got to be Terry!" Annie smirked. It was. Mum finally handed the phone over.

"So you eventually got out of your pit, did you? Jetlag or not enough sleep in Manila? Must have run you ragged over there." Annie quipped sarcastically.

"Give it a rest, love. Don't even ask about Manila. Highly confidential stuff. Just leave it at that. How was your squaddie?"

"Highly confidential, mate. Couldn't possibly tell you about that. Just say I got your money's worth." She hoped that would fire a shot across his bows but he did not take the bait.

"Seen the film. Mel posted it on a website."

"What?"

"Only joking- she just sent it to me. Touched by your public defence of my manhood, though. Not surprised- but still touched. You alone?"

"No."

"Pity. I fancy a wank."

"Terry!"

He giggled. "I'm having one anyway. Should I tell you what I'm thinking about..." He started heavy breathing and launched into a particularly crude fantasy

"I'm putting the phone down if you don't shut up."

"And then I'm going to..."

She slammed the phone down. 

"Did you have a row?" Mum asked in surprise.

No, Mum. I just want to take the call on my hand phone upstairs..." as she dashed out of the room.

"Are you really wanking?" Annie was on her mobile upstairs.

"No. I'm cooking. But I could put the phone on hands free..."

"Did you get wasted in Manila? On your stag night?"

"Who said I had a stag night?"

"You must have done. You haven't had another chance. How rat-arsed were you?"

"Such a pleasant expression. Drank quite a lot. Passed out somewhere. But woke up back in my room, so someone took me back. It wasn't as bad as I'd feared."

"So, you weren't in any condition to..."

"To what? I won a bet and the drinks were on Dino. Had to fleece him- didn't I? So wherever they took me, I was shit-faced by then. Make you feel better?" Terry grimaced at his economical version of the truth. Sure he couldn't have done any damage at the end of the night- but he's done plenty before he started drinking.

"What was the bet?" Trust Annie to keep digging.

"Er... something on the lines of a pissing contest. You know how boys are. Bit of sport, really. Any way, I don't want to waste time on that. How are you? Excited? Cold feet? Planning to stand me up?"

"Bit numb really. Be glad when it's over. I mean I want to do it but... I just miss you and want it to be us, alone somewhere. I'm not really into all these ritual sanctions. I thought I'd get a chance to see you beforehand but it's not going to happen. Terry, are you sure this is what you want? It isn't some sort of emotional reaction to what happened is it? If you want to back out or just leave things as they are, I'd understand. It's that marriage is so...final. It's forever, well, to me it is, anyway..."

"I asked you. I wouldn't have asked you if it wasn't what I wanted. And you don't have to tell me what marriage is. I fucked up once before and wouldn't dream of treating it lightly. And I don't want just to shack up with you. I want this to have a meaning. I want it to be forever. Fuck - you make me sound like Donny Osmond!"

Annie laughed. "That shows your age! I feel the same way. I just love you so much it makes my head hurt. I can't believe how things have changed for me in one year. It's all because of you. For once even I can't find words to explain."

"Then it's mutual. I'll call you tomorrow. I want to eat. I also want to fuck you but I'll have to do that on my own later. Think about me. Night, love!"

"Wait, Terry! Something else. I want you to read something. You know what I'm like- don't really manage the love stuff very well. Bit like you really. But I feel it. There's a quote I want you to look at. I left a book on the coffee table in the lounge. It's a small Folio Society cloth bound copy of Catullus..."

"Who?"

"Catullus.  Just turn to page 107. I highlighted the quote. It's about a bridegroom on the eve of marriage- sort of timeless. Completely soppy but who cares- I'm only getting married once. And I will think of you. I never actually stop."

Annie lay back on the bed in the dark room and thought about Terry, but not in the way he had envisaged. Her mind was on the man he was and what he was going to mean to her in her life. Her husband- the word seemed alien to her; the father of her unborn children- she had never even thought about being a mother for years and now she felt such yearnings; the calm strength around which she could focus her life; his tender, vulnerable heart that she would cherish. He overwhelmed her- but she rejoiced in it.

She had even decided to use his name- something she had thought she would never do- not because it was an acceptance of his male authority over her, but because it seemed like a gift she was giving him of herself. All her old assumptions seemed to have been changed by him; she saw convention in a new light. Was it for real or some romantic notion that had carried her away? Whatever it was, it was both scary and uplifting and she was not going to run from the challenge; she would meet life with this man head on.

Curious, Terry found the book lying on the table in the lounge. It was an expensive edition, beautifully bound and set. The left hand pages were in Latin and the right in English translation. Typically of Annie, she had marked the Latin and written in pencil in the margin- 'Pity you can't read this- it is SO much better in the original!!' He smiled at her instinctive intellectualising- but she made it fun- if he had been taught by a girl like her who knows how much harder he might have worked at school?

The right hand page was similarly marked; he read the quote.

'Man, let the gods be my witness,
You are handsome
Venus has well favoured you!
But the day is ending, so enter in-
What are you waiting for?
I have not kept you waiting long
So enter now!
Blessed Venus is on your side
Take what you desire!
For you have never tried to hide your love.

He who wishes to count the love games in our be
Might just as well count each grain of sand in Africa
Or the shining stars in the heavens above!'

Terry sat back in the chair and re-read the lines, passing his hand through his hair, smiling to himself. Annie was quite unlike any woman he had ever known in almost every way. She could be bloody hard work when she wanted to be and she was certainly no homemaker but that only seemed to increase the certainty he felt that nothing he had ever done had felt this right. He knew that his life would never be the same again but then he had known that ever since he had met her, if he were honest with himself. This crazy girl made him feel safe and he hadn't even known that he was insecure. She made him feel loved and he hadn't even known that he needed to be. She made him feel part of the human race and he hadn't even known he had become an alien. Honest with himself- now that was a new concept! He wondered when he had last looked at his own soul and given it some attention? Not to worry- that was Annie's job now. She would certainly sweep it clean.

An idea came to him. He knew what he would buy her as a wedding gift. It would blow her away, just as these lines had done to him. She wouldn't have thought he had it in him. 'Well, she doesn't know everything about me, even if she thinks she does,' he grinned to himself. He picked up the phone and called Mel. This would be their second recent collaboration in his attempts to surprise Annie, but somehow he thought that this might even surprise the streetwise Mel herself. Steeling himself for the inevitable howl of amusement his request might bring, he outlined what he had in mind. Mel did not laugh. In fact, although she didn't let him know, her eyes filled with tears at what he said. 'God', she thought to herself after he had rung off, 'However did I let him slip through my fingers?'

PART FOUR

On the morning of her wedding, Annie woke up early after a fitful sleep. She sat up in bed, already feeling nervous and jumpy. Slipping from the sheets, she pulled open the curtains and looked out onto the wintry morning; it was still dark but clear. The house was silent and for a moment she imagined that she was a child again in her own room and dreaming of the world out there that she wanted to be part of. Now she was a woman, out in that world, and about to take the most important step she had ever taken- but she didn't feel any doubts. That alone was a first- everything else in her life had been buried under the weight of her insecurities.

Annie sat down at the dressing table to look at herself in the mirror, wondering for the thousandth time why he wanted her when he could have any woman he chose. But the fact remained he did want her- there was no question about that. Idly her hand reached down for a brush and alighted on a book lying on the tabletop. It wasn't one of hers. Annie picked up the book and looked at it. It was a handsomely bound leather copy of John Donne's 'Poems of Love'. John Donne? Where had that come from? She hadn't read Donne since VIth Form. Flicking through it, she noticed that a page had been marked with a bookmark and began to read the elegant Elizabethan prose. It was the 19th elegy: 'Going to Bed' and it was quite the most erotic piece of writing she had ever read- they had loved it as seventeen year olds who were aching to leave home and lose their virginity. Annie knew immediately why it was there and marvelled at the man who had left it there for her. He was quite unlike anyone she had ever known. How had he thought of such a thing? Annie began to read.

The description of the bride undressing for her man and he instructing her with such poetry, his wonder at her body slowly revealed shimmering from every line! The unbridled passion that he felt; it was as if Donne had verbalised the moans and cries of lovemaking, translating them into heartbreakingly moving words:

...Licence my roving hands and let them go
Before, behind, between, above, below.
O my America! My New-found-land!
My mine of precious stones, my Emperie
How blest am I in discovering thee!
To enter into these bonds is to be set free; 
Then where my hand is set, my seal shall be......

And she read on to those final evocative lines:

Then since that I may know; 
As liberally, as to a midwife show thyself.
Cast all, yea, this white linen hence
There is no penance due to innocence.
To teach thee, I am naked first; why than
What needst thou have more covering than a man?

Annie breathed deeply and held the book to her breast. She shook her head to clear her vision. 'Terry Thorne- you are a one! How soon is it until bedtime?'

PART FIVE

"I'm never doing that again!" stated Annie as they sat in the back of a taxi leaving the reception. Terry laughed. "That is the idea of marriage. You do it once."

"Well you've done it twice. But then you never get anything right first time, do you? Whereas I am substantially quicker on the uptake than you!" Annie giggled. She lay back against him and closed her eyes. Funny really. It was her wedding night and she didn't particularly feel like sex. She felt sleepy and exhausted and relieved. 'What a peculiar bride I am' she thought. But looking up at Terry he also seemed quiet and pensive - and very close to dropping off himself.

It had been quite a day. Her Mum and Dad had insisted on the whole works; she was the first of their children to marry and they wanted a big Catholic Irish wedding- Nuptial Mass, choir and then the reception complete with Ceilidh band and free bar all night. Mental. Annie had tried to tone the whole thing down but strangely enough Terry had been keen. His first wedding had been in a registry office with the minimum of guests, a furtive hole-in-the-corner affair. He had always felt something lacking there; said there was still enough of the Catholic boy left in him to regard church and weddings as complementary. Mum was delighted and in that typical double think Catholic mode. 'I know he's a divorcé but as he never married in a church before, the first marriage was not legal in the eyes of God - he is still eligible to have a Catholic wedding.' Total hypocrisy but that's the way it worked. Someone like Terry could happily get married with the full blessings of Holy Mother Church whereas her aunt, who had been abandoned twenty years ago with three kids by a rat of a husband, was prevented from marrying again- her marriage had been in Church.

So they had got through it and it hadn't been so bad.  Her friends had almost wet their knickers at the sight of Terry and she had seen little of him all night- he had danced with all the women, especially the old ones, and they thought he was something else. He had, of course, made a wryly, amusing thank-you speech in laid back Aussie mode which was almost as well received as the hilarious one that Dino made. It had been suitably racy without upsetting the old ladies and the parish priest although one of his stories about Terry and a group of Hula Hula dancers in Hawaii some years back had been cutting it fine. At least Terry had had the decency to blush- there was obviously even more to this one than had been revealed.

So they had cut the cake and been toasted and she had thrown her bouquet and left them all to it. Her Dad had arranged for the party to continue at his house where there were a couple of barrels, bottles of Bushmills, crates of wine and a few fiddle players. Terry had wistfully suggested that they might call in for a while but her father had told the two of them to get lost so that the rest of them could have a good time. Typical! Annie raised her left hand and looked at her wedding ring. She was married. Terry was her husband. Her name was now Mrs. Terrence Thorne.

"Regretting it now, love?" His voice broke in as she was eying up her ring finger.

"Not a chance. Got you now- in my sweaty little hands. Hog tied, collared, roped up- you have had your chance at freedom, mate!" Annie spun round and cuddled up to him. He stroked her hair and sighed.

"Feels good. Like I've suddenly joined the real world. Never realised how far away I was from normality. Family. Belonging to something. I feel sort of rooted."

"I'll give you rooted. I want a good old Aussie rooting, not some poetic declaration. You're supposed to be jumping my bones by now. It is my wedding night. You should be inaugurating me into the pleasures of the flesh with the benefit of your manly experience. I'm supposed to be fainting at the sight of your dick. Instead I've got you spouting like some columnist in The Woman's Weekly.

"You'll get yours. Can't you be romantic for a moment, Annie? Pretend that you are a young virgin and I'm about to take your maidenhood with gypsy violins playing and heavenly choruses singing..."

"...And waves pounding on the shore and volcanoes erupting- you definitely have been reading Barbara Cartland- you pathetic loser!"

"Who's fucking Barbara Cartland?" he retorted, laughing.

"Actually though, it's not a bad idea." Annie had suddenly had a thought.

Terry appeared confused. "What is?"

"It must have been amazing for a virgin bride. Let's play games tonight. Make it feel like a first night. It almost makes we wish I'd waited."

"For a year?" Terry laughed, "You can't wait for two minutes for anything, love. You don't have the iron resolve to be a maiden. Open your legs at the drop of a hat, you do. If you'd lived in Roman times you'd have been a notorious courtesan. I'd never peg you for a virgin bride."

"You shit! Thought you wanted to be romantic. Let's pretend, Terry, please....pretty please! You owe me one anyway- since I've been so tolerant about what happened in Manila..."

"Nothing happened in Manila."

"Liar. I'll bet you had it off with a prostitute."

"No, I didn't."

"Well- a real woman then."

"Tarts are real women, love."

"You know what I mean. See, I'm not angry- even though I only copped a feel of that stripper. Tell me what you did. It'll turn me on."

"I can turn you on. Annie- I'm not going to say anything further on that subject, so give it a rest. Not that anything did happen, of course."

"If you don't tell me, I'll imagine it was worse than it was."

"How can you imagine it was worse when you don't know what it was- if it was. Anyway, the truth might be worse than you could imagine." He smirked as if he had tied her up in knots.

"Don't try to beat me in a game of casuistry, mate. I've studied Philosophy and Logic. I'll have your knickers in a twist if you try it."

"Shut up. Do as you are told. Want to play games? Here's one. I'm your lord and master and you know your place. That should tax you for the rest of the evening."

"OK. Here goes. You are my new husband and you are a fierce warrior. My father had arranged this marriage for political reasons and you have no interest in me other than the dynastic advantage that my high birth will bring to your career. I am young and tender and know nothing of men. My mother has told me little other than that I must obey your every command and I am scared of your imposing manliness. I shudder at the thought you may touch me and would be even more afraid if I knew exactly what consummation entailed..."

"Give it a rest. How come your fantasies take about 50 pages to get to the dirty bits? Can't you just say - he pins her to the bed and fucks her senseless..."

"Terry. It's a romantic fantasy not a porno one. You were the one who was bleating about romance five minutes ago. And while I'm on the subject of romance- I'm also still reeling from a certain poem I read this morning..." She caught his bashful look, eyelashes lowered but clearly pleased with himself. "We have still to act out that one- I slipped the book in my case. And you have such a deep and sexy voice for poetry reading..."

The cab approached the hotel and brought their discussion to an end. Terry paid the fare and took Annie by the hand. He pulled her close. "The deal is- I'll play along if you promise to keep your mouth shut. If I'm going to make a woman out of my little virgin bride, I expect she would say very little, other than whistle appreciatively at relevant moments or whatever the virginal equivalent of whistling is. If we're going to do this, love, we are going to do this properly. Are you game?"

Annie curtseyed. "I am at your command, my lord!", and she lowered her eyelids demurely. He swept her up in his arms and carried her to the reception. "I hope you realise, madam, that you may never be the same again," he giggled as they checked in.