Joe walked back into the house an hour later. The aroma of red sauce and roasting chicken assailed his senses. He noticed the table wasn't set, he figured her calls had run on. Any call to Bonny was bound to be a long one, he thought with a smile. He was always grateful to Jill's sisters for the support they gave her.
He followed the sound of Jill's voice into the kitchen. She had her earbuds in, and was chatting to her sister while checking on the chicken, the light of the oven glowing, illuminating her. She turned and saw him, her face transformed into a huge smile. His heart soared to see the unabashed look of love and delight that crossed her face when she saw him. He smiled back, walked closer. She returned the chicken to the oven and held up five fingers telling him it would be ready in five minutes.
'I've gotta go Bonny, dinner is almost ready and Joe is home', she said. 'Hi Bonny, bye Bonny', Joe called into the phone. 'Yeah, bye, text me what happens', Jill said, ending the call and taking the buds from her ears, placing them on the counter nearby. Joe slipped his arms around her as she turned towards him. She settled her hands on his shoulders, reaching up to meet his lips.
'Hi', she breathed. 'Hi', he replied. 'How was Mass?' 'Fine. How's Bonny?' 'Fine' she replied. He grinned. 'Good', he said. 'Good', she replied and they both laughed, kissed once more and then stood aside, ready to serve dinner.
The atmosphere wasn't quite so charged now but the lingering sensation of their hands touching. The softness of their smiles to one another. The gentleness of their tone as they spoke told of actions yet to come, of yearnings to be fulfilled. Of desire burning deeply inside of them.
'You want me to set the table?' Joe asked, his hand resting lightly on her waist. 'It's done', she said. He looked around in confusion. 'I thought we could eat outside, on the deck', she explained. 'If it gets cold we can come inside. It just seemed to be too nice an evening not to', she explained, resting her palm on his cheek for a moment.
He laughed. Leaned in, touching his forehead gently to hers. The weather is due to turn later. I'll light the fire first', he said, 'it'll be cozy when we come back in'. 'The best of both worlds', she agreed.
Joe set about his task, smiling to himself. Jill loved to be outdoors, listening to the ocean, watching the shifting colors of the sea. And then the sun would set and the evening would turn cold quickly, and they'd freeze. As the fire began to take hold Willow purred softly beside him, rubbing her head against his knee. He patted her gently. She was a lovely little thing. Gentle but tenacious when backed into a corner. Beautiful, lithe, sleek, affectionate with an independent streak that would never be tamed. No wonder she and Jill hit it off immediately, he thought. Two kindred spirits in the human and animal world finding each other.
He remembered the day Jill had come home from the campaign stop. Bursting in the door her first comments weren't about the speech or the people she had met or the journey or anything to do with the campaign. 'Joe', she had said, 'I've adopted a kitten'.
He'd been at the door to greet her. He heard the excitement in her voice, saw the delight in her eyes. Dogs were his animal of choice, always, but he'd become so used to Jill introducing cats to their household over the years that he'd come to like them too, maybe even love them he admitted to himself, as he stood in the doorway recalling some of the past feline members of their family.
'Great', he replied, delighted to see her smile even more at his agreement. 'If you're happy then I'm happy', he said, wrapping her in a welcome home hug. 'Tell me all about it', he said as he kissed her and closed the door behind them. Walking towards the kitchen, he realized that he relished hearing about the impending addition to their home. And in that moment he knew he was already in love with the kitten too.
