She wandered into the bedroom, throwing on her somewhat-ratty robe and glancing at the clock. She had slept for two hours, and she was surprised that Condor was still gone. “I am going to make him a nice dinner, and then we are going to enjoy this weekend. I can’t and won’t stay in this state of doldrum all weekend. I refuse!” Aino walked into the kitchen. There wasn’t much in the fridge, but a pound of vacuum-sealed ground beef, a bag of frozen shredded cheddar, and a box of Bisquick gave her the makings of a cheeseburger pie, and she cooked everything up, putting it in the oven. Aino cleaned up the mess she had made and then went to find something to keep her busy. She decided on the task of painting the living room and dragged out the can of paint, the power roller, and the tarp to cover the rug. She had already decided on a soft baby blue for the walls and darker blue for the trim, and she popped the top off the can and filled the edger with paint. It was a handy little contraption that used a tube filled with paint and a flat square edging sponge to make the job of cutting in corners and edges a lot easier. As she worked, she kept a wet paper towel handy to wipe off any unevenness. The casserole took forty-five minutes to bake, and she was almost done edging the room when the buzzer went off. Aino frowned, setting down the brush to take the pan out of the oven. Condor should be back, and the fact that he wasn’t was making her uneasy. She grabbed her cell phone off the table and called him, but his phone was shut off. “Shit, Condor. What are you doing?” she asked.
“Well, I might as well finish edging. If he’s not back by then, I can paint. Maybe he got a call from the club and was afraid to wake me,” she mumbled, going back to her edging.
Aino had completed the first coat of light-blue paint when the front door opened. Condor stopped, glancing around. “I thought you were gonna get some sleep?”
“I did. I had a bad dream about my father, and it woke me up. Where have you been? You have been gone forever.”
He set the bags on the table and held up his finger in a gesture for her to hold the thought. Aino put the roller down and went to the door. Condor handed her a pile of bags and headed back outside. When he didn’t shut the door on the third trip, she asked, “Do you want some help?”
“No, one more trip should do it. Be right back.”
Aino carried the bags he had handed her into the kitchen and stood for a moment wondering where to put them. The table and counters were already covered with bags. She pushed the chairs out with her foot and set one bag on each. Condor walked in with his arms full and dropped them on the sofa. “That’s it.”
“What did you do? Buy the whole store?”
“No. What smells good?”
“Very cold cheeseburger pie.”
“What is cheeseburger pie?”
“It’s good, but I need to get the table cleaned off so we have somewhere to eat,” she replied as she began to unpack the bags.
Condor opened one of the ones he had put on the couch, and she heard him rip open a package. He held up a beautiful rose lace curtain. “What do you think?”
“I think that would look excellent over the back doors.”
“Exactly what I got them for. There is no sense in putting them up until we get a second coat of paint on this room.” He threw six black hand towels at her. “Is this what you wanted?”
“Perfect,” she replied, setting them into the drawer near the sink. She emptied a bag into the refrigerator, wondering why he had purchased two cans of whipped cream. The second bag was filled with soap, paper goods, and things for the bathroom, and she set it aside. The next one was packed with frozen vegetables, and her favorite triple-layer German chocolate cake. In the bottom she found two chocolate cream pies. Condor walked up behind her, taking off her bathrobe and sliding a new one over her shoulders. It was elegantly soft and fluffy, the hot-pink color striking against her tanned skin. “You are spoiling me.”
“Not really, I hate this bathrobe. I couldn’t wait to throw it out.”
“Well, don’t. I can’t paint in this one, it is too nice.”
“Good point,” he said, reaching into the pocket of the robe and pulling out a box.
Aino frowned as she looked up at him. Condor grinned at her expression and opened it, holding it before her. “I haven’t answered you yet.”
“I know. Answer me.”
“Oh, Condor,” she said in an irritated tone. “I don’t know. I don’t want to make a decision right now. I don’t know what is going to happen next week. How can you expect me to decide on something as big as marrying you?”
“Say yes, take the ring, and then if you change your mind, okay. I already paid for it, and I am not taking it back.”
“You are a pain in my ass.”
“Is that a yes or a no?”
She clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth, raising her eyes to the ceiling and shaking her head. “You have me between a rock and hard place. I don’t want to be pushed into saying no because I don’t want to hurt your feelings. If I say yes then I’m committed. I love you, I just don’t know about getting married right now.”
“Take the ring. You have six months to call it off. If not, then one year from today we get married. Is that fair?”
She dangled her left hand before him and sighed. “Okay.”
Condor lifted the ring from the box and slid it over her finger. “I want this, Aino. I want you in my future.”
“Same here, but….”
He put his finger to her lips to stop her from continuing. “There are no buts. Now shut up and kiss me.” He replaced his finger with his lips, drawing her closer as he wrapped her in a passionate embrace. When he released her, he saw tears in her eyes. “Oh, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why are you crying?”
“Because I’m feeling emotional. You have gone from wonderful to amazingly perfect. You went shopping and thought of everything. You asked me to marry you knowing that I might have cancer. The ring is beautiful, and I am standing here in a hot-pink bathrobe looking like a street person.”
“You do look a bit befuddled,” he said with a grin. “Let get this stuff put away and eat. I’m starving.”
She finished cleaning off the table as Condor threw a slab of the casserole in the microwave. They ate together, the food not as good as it would have been before it was reheated, but still a tasty meal. Aino washed the dishes as Condor began to work with the edger, applying a second coat. She followed him with the roller, and together they worked their way around the room until it was finished. “I like it,” said Condor as he gazed around appraisingly. Are you going to do the woodwork in that shade?” he asked, pointing to the quart can with the darker-blue smudge on the top.
“Yeah, think it will look good? Maybe I should just leave it white.”
“No, it will look good. We can tackle that tomorrow. Why don’t we get this mess cleaned up and go to bed. I want to go down to the club and see how they made out. You’re right. The electrician is a pain in the ass.”
“Why, what happened?”
“I stopped by there, and he had a million questions about things on the prints. I had to explain each thing to him, and I have a feeling he will be asking the same thing tomorrow.”
“You got that right.” Aino emptied the roller and edger back into the almost empty can and banged the lid on as Condor took the painting tools to clean them. She took a closer look at the curtains and hung them on the rods, figuring that she could always take them down. The lacy white pattern was backed with a thicker, heavier fabric that would keep prying eyes out of the living room, perfect for the back doors. Once they were in place, she backed across the living room to look at them. They offset the blue walls perfectly, the pattern matching the sofa. “You have good taste, Condor.”
“Thank you,” he replied, shaking the edger in the sink. He threw the roller brush out and washed the tube as she continued to take things from the bags and put them away. He had gotten new bathroom towels, washcloths, and a suspended rack to put shampoo and accessories on inside the shower. She put the rack together and headed into the bathroom to set it into place. When she came out, Condor was lying on the bed. He had turned off all the lights except the fountain. “You are feeling better, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I’m not going to sit and worry about something I have no control over. You are here for the weekend, and I intend to enjoy your company. I had a good time tonight.”
“Me, too. I need to get up and get ready for bed. You wore me out.” He sat up, lifting a bag and pitching it to her as he stood up. Without a word, he walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
Aino turned on the overhead light and looked into the bag. She began to laugh as she pulled out a pair of pink bunny slippers and a very sexy, red teddy. She dropped her bathrobe on the bed and slid into the little satin nightgown and then put on the slippers. The ears flopped when she walked, the fur feeling soft around her feet. When Condor came out, she was lying back on the pillows, bouncing her foot.
Condor whistled at her, chuckling as he walked up to the bed. “Do you like them?”
“Yes, they are really cute. Everything you have bought me is incredibly delicate and silky. Are you trying to soften me up a bit?”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“I don’t know. It is not like you and I ever play dominance games. Do you want me to be gentler at home?”
“Maybe,” he replied, flipping his shirt on the chair. “I don’t mind if you continue to go the club and be dominatrix with the members. I’m not into pain, and the idea of possibly hurting you freaks me out. Sorry.”
“Why don’t you drop those drawers, and I will show you how gentle I can be.”
“Are you sure that you are up to it?”
“As long as you aren’t too tired.”
Condor tossed his pants on top of his shirt and walked over to her. “Never.” He grabbed her feet, pulling off the slippers and dropping them on the floor. He slid down onto the bed, rolling her onto his chest to kiss her. Aino melted in his embrace, her body reacting as it always did to the sweetness of Condor’s kiss. Her muscles began to twitch with desire, and she winced, her inner skin still sensitive from the earlier intrusion.
Condor leaned back, feeling her jumpiness. “Are you okay?”
“I think I’m a little sore from the biopsy. I didn’t realize it until I began to get aroused.”
He urged her head down to his chest. “No biggie. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Sorry, do you want me to do something about your dick?”
“I am fine. Relax and get some sleep. We will see how you feel tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she replied, softening in his arms. “This feels good.”
“Agreed.” Condor kissed her head. It was a good thing that they had been busy all evening. Aino hadn’t noticed the worried glances that he had occasionally caught himself giving her. He was not made of stone either. He was very worried that she might have cancer. He had also considered a hundred other unsavory tidbits while he was running errands. In hospitals all over the country, people developed infections, had reactions to anesthesia, had major issues after surgery. There were many things that could go wrong even if she didn’t have cancer, and every time he looked at her, one thing or another seemed to pop into his mind. He was terrified of losing her. He wasn’t so unlike her in matters of the heart. He often distanced himself from others to keep a safe barrier around his life. Other than Benny, he had no family. He didn’t have time to cultivate friendships, and his relationships with women were rare and far spaced. To have Aino in his life had been far more than he had ever imagined. He adored her. He longed to see her when they were apart, and when they were together, his life seemed brighter. Her presence gave a brilliance to his daily life which he had never expected. Their relationship was far from normal, but with all the dysfunctional confessions he had heard over the years, life with her was perfect. He could only hope that it would remain that way.
They both arose early in the morning, eating a light breakfast before heading to the club. They inspected all that had been done the day before and had another long chat with the electrician. When the decorator appeared, Aino frowned. “I thought we were meeting tomorrow?”
“Condor called and asked me to make it today. Is there a problem?”
Condor walked out of the room he was in and cringed. “Sorry, Aino, I forgot that I spoke with Daniel yesterday. I put your designs in the back of the car. I figured you could show him what you have now and we could take off for the weekend. Do you mind?”
“No, not really. It would have been nice if you told me, but with everything that has been going on, no big deal. Let’s go to the car.”
Daniel followed them outside and Aino put the rooms together, showing him her ideas. Daniel worked for X-Dare corporation and had final say on all designs. “I like what you have put together. I will get started on purchasing the fabric and accessories. Do you want the same easy-wash bed covers as the northern club has?”
“Yes, please. We also need to get some orders put in for the washing machines. I mentioned to Condor the other night about maybe getting some sex machines. Is that a doable item?”
“As a matter of fact, a club in California just got an order approved. I can get the details if you want. What did you have in mind for a setup?”
“I was thinking about adding a couple of segregated rooms with a main hallway off the club itself. Maybe four of them, two with two machines and two with one. Obviously there have to be sanitary conditions implemented into the components, and there will have to be a place to buy the proper dildos for individual use. I think we should also offer discreet carry bags for personal toys. The rooms will need a place for washing of personal toys after use. I would like to have them wired so that there are a set of controls on the bed or mat and a second set so a couple could enjoy them. It might be interesting to have someone else calling the shots. I think that a place on the bed for tie downs might add an interesting twist also. I don’t want shit machines that are going to break down all the time either.”
“Okay, as with everything, you seem to have this well thought out. I will get the information on what the California club is doing and get back to you. From what Mark says and from what I have seen, the club is shaping up quickly, and I can begin inside as soon as I get the materials delivered.”