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The Employment Office

He held my arms above my head and removed all the clothes below them. My heart started beating faster than was probably safe for the human body.

"You seem nervous, Regina. You're excited, I can tell. Are you scared?" Jim asked, looking like he was trying to make me scared. I shook my head.

"Jim, it's my 'animal instincts' as you call them. You're dripping animal magnetism and sweat. I don't know why I'm nervous. Maybe it's the fact that we're still married and my parents are okay with it."

"Shush, shush, Regina. We're just playing around right now, like lion cubs. Currently, I'm fresh out of condoms, and I'd rather not boost our chances of being parents. If I had intentions of more adult situations, we would already be finished. Don't be disappointed. But we can still have fun." I was disappointed for the duration of most of what Jim said, but put a sly smile on my face by the end.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" I asked.

"Just play along." Jim said. I grinned at Jim's orders.

Almost an hour later, we re clothed ourselves and slipped into my bed. If grass was comfortable, this bed was solid baby-blanket material. I sighed with relief as the bed contorted to the shape of my back. Jim seemed as comfortable as I felt.

"Seriously rethinking my ban on adult situations." Jim moaned, his eyes closed.

"It probably would be an improvement as opposed to grass or sand." I agreed. "But it wouldn't be very smart." Jim sighed.

"I know. I just wish we didn't have to worry about this. I wish we could have kids and not have to worry about the government taking them away."

"We will someday, but not now. We will have to get a permanent residence somewhere. I was thinking somewhere warm in the summer, that still gets snow, but not too much. I want to be able to sit at the window in a rocking chair, watching the softly falling snow, while sitting near a blazing fire. Since we were married, I had a dream that I'd be in a bulky sweater, sipping cinnamon tea in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace in our house. I imagine myself as being pregnant in that scenario. You'd be tending the fire or sitting beside me, cuddling, whenever the fire didn't need poking or new logs." Jim was silent for a moment.

"Is that what you want in life, Regina?"

"Yes. If I can experience that moment in my life, I will be truly happy."

"Then it will be my mission in life to bring you that moment. I'll do whatever I have to."

"You're too good for me, Jim. I don't know what I could have done to deserve you."

"You ignored my advice and headbutted me in the gut twice." I laughed a little.

"Best mistake I ever made."

"Best pain I ever experienced. Was that pom-pom on your hat made out of steel or something?"

"Not unless Arnie replaced my homemade yarn pom-pom with a hard one."

Jim smiled. I sat, watching him be happy.

"Jim, where are we going to live? I know you don't want to stay in this town. Personally, I wouldn't mind going to a big city and getting an apartment. Maybe we could go out to the country and start a farm. Work it ourselves for the first few years, then we'll hire a few hands to do it, so we can spend more time alone together." I suggested. Jim leaned forward and put his chin in his palms.

"A farm, huh? That's not a bad idea. We buy a few dozen acres of land to start and build a house on it. We grow veggies on it and sell them at the Farmer's Market. I've never been one for gardening, but that sounds like a really good idea."