They hit the crescendo together, gasping for air, muscles tight with tension, and then soared into an ultimate pleasure-filled void as one.
Afterward, as they were both shuddering with aftershocks, they laughed, and kissed, and laughed again.
Betty could stay exactly where she was for the rest of her life, lying naked on a bed and staring at the ceiling and smiling as her heartbeat gradually returned to normal after making love with her husband yet again. She laughed then, because she had been here for hours and hours.
Henry’s hand was on her stomach, his palm rubbing small circles right above where their baby was growing.
“When are you due?”
Her smile grew. “May, from my calculations.” A hint of embarrassment had her adding. “Only my sisters know, besides me and you.”
“I was stunned when you told me. So shocked I couldn’t think, and I’m sorry that I drove away.”
“I’m sorry that I sent you away. I should have told you sooner, but...” She covered his hand with both of hers. “I was so scared.”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of now.” He kissed her temple. “I’ll get a job here, buy us a house. It’ll all be fine.”
She bit down on her bottom lip. That sounded perfect, and had been exactly what she’d thought she’d wanted, but now... Now she wasn’t so sure. How could that be? She was married to the man she loved. The father of her baby. What more could she want?
“We are going to have to get dressed soon,” Henry said. “Go down to the restaurant. Meet Nate.”
They had eaten in their room last night, and again this morning. Which had been hours ago. Her stomach growled, and she giggled.
Henry climbed off the bed and tugged on her arm. “Come on. You’re hungry.”
“I am hungry.” She leaped off the bed. The room was so lovely. The walls were painted a pale green, with sheer yellow curtains that matched the yellow of the chenille bedspread. There was even a sink in the room, along with a dresser with a mirror, two chairs, and a small round table that they’d sat at to eat this morning, her wearing only her dressing robe and Henry his pants.
She lifted her suitcase onto the chair and opened it. Her choices were minimal, since she’d only packed one outfit. Actually, Jane had packed for her, and she laughed as she lifted out the powder blue dress. It was one of her favorites.
“What are you laughing at?” Henry asked while splashing water on his face at the sink.
“Nothing.” She reached over, pulled a towel off the rack, and tossed it at him before lifting up the dress to pull over her head.
He caught the towel and wiped his face. “That’s a pretty dress.”
“It’s one of my favorites.” She lifted a pair of tap pants out of the suitcase and stepped into them, pulling them up under the dress, and then flounced the skirt and tied the waist sash into a bow over her right hip.
“It looks lovely on you.” He kissed her cheek as he reached for his own suitcase.
She went to the sink and washed her face, then brushed her hair. By the time Henry was dressed, she’d added the pearl necklace and earbobs that she’d worn yesterday.
“Very lovely.” He lifted her hair and kissed the side of her neck. “I must be the luckiest man on earth.”
She giggled and reached up, laid her hand on the side of his face while staring at the reflection of the two of them in the mirror. She was the lucky one. So very, very lucky that he hadn’t listened to her. She shouldn’t have listened to herself.
“Let’s go before I take that dress off you and we end up eating in our room again,” he said, grinning at her in the mirror.
“I wouldn’t mind.”
He kissed her cheek. “Neither would I.” Grasping her hand, he pulled her to the door. “We’ll eat fast.”
Laughing, they left the room, and, alone in the elevator, he kissed her thoroughly and whispered in her ear, describing what he would do after they returned to her room. Her cheeks were warm and her heart racing with anticipation when they stepped out of the elevator.
“There’s the happy couple,” Henry’s uncle Nate said, waving at them from the other side of the lobby.
Henry’s parents stood next to him, and she breathed through a bout of nervousness.
He squeezed her hand as they crossed the lobby, greeted his family, and then entered the restaurant.
His parents, and his uncle, were very pleasant, and by the time the main course of their meal arrived, she felt very comfortable, and was extremely interested in learning more about Henry.
“He was a top member of the first graduation class of the Virginia State Junior College,” John said, full of pride.
“The top member,” Esther added. “Henry’s grades were always exemplary. In all subjects.”
“Henry had a job waiting for him at the Bureau before he graduated,” Nate said.
Henry looked at her. “Family had more to do with that than grades.”
Both his uncle and father frowned.
“No, they didn’t,” Nate said. “It was your grades, your attention to detail and intelligence that got you that job.” He shrugged. “But I will admit that I was awfully proud to tell people you were my nephew. Still am.”
“You worked at the Bureau, too?” she asked.
“Yes, I did, and the Justice Department,” Nate said. “Until I was appointed the attorney general.”
Betty wasn’t miffed or upset that Henry hadn’t told her about his uncle, and his position, but wondered why he’d never mentioned it. She wondered why he seemed a bit solemn, too.
“I’m not going to talk business here, tonight,” Nate said. “But I do want to talk to you, Henry, before I head back. The Bureau doesn’t want to lose you.”
She felt the way Henry stiffened and saw how stern his expression
