Kooks (Sequel to Bowie)

21

*ONE YEAR LATER*

          I walked up behind Ilse and put my hands on her hips. We looked out at the yard and the palm trees. She turned her head and kissed me. "Blair is taking the kids for the weekend." She said, pulling away just an inch. I smirked and she cupped my neck in her hands.

"Is that so?" I asked, pulling her waist towards me.

          "It is, but she's not here yet." She laughed and turned her head. "Cheeky bastard." I laughed at her and walked away. She jumped on my back and I ran with her around the house. "We should have a party..." she trailed off.

          I looked sideways. "I mean we have never used our ballroom." She sighed and I felt her body glow with excitement. "We could get married again!"

          "Is that even a thing, Ils?" I asked.

          "I mean, I love you enough to marry you again." She kissed my neck. "Bring me upstairs." She said I brought her upstairs. "Okay now into our room." I brought her to the room. "Now can you get my sweatpants?" I burst out laughing and Ilse fell off. I grabbed her sweatpants and she snatched them from me, ripped off her jeans, and put on her sweatpants. She jumped on my back again and looked out the window.

          The setting sun was being shaded by serious looking rain clouds. We walked into the girls attached bedrooms and got their bags. "Lets go downstairs baby." She said to Ros. Ilse jumped off my back and took Ros' hand. She changed so much after she turned four. I picked up Maureen, she
was still wobbly on her feet even at two.

          The doorbell rang and Ilse looked at me and smiled before she called out, "Coming!!" She looked back at me again and bounded to the door. I walked slowly behind her and let Maureen run to the door.

          "Auntie Blair!" Yelled Ross. Blair scooped up our girls and brought them to her car. We brought the bags to the car and talked for awhile before they left.

          We stood and waved at the girls as the car disappeared down the winding road. She hopped back on my back and I carried her inside. "What first?" she asked. I raised my eyebrows and thought of an answer.

          "Okay, here's what I'm thinking." I said she looked at me awaiting an answer. "Ok, pool, hot tub, dinner." She looked content with my answer.

          She ran out to the pool and I ran after her smiling at the trail of clothes that she left behind.

          Before I stepped out, I took off my clothes too. She smiled and I walked out and slid into the pool. Not waisting a second, she clung too me and started to kiss my shoulders and neck before swimming off. I followed her and dove under the water, kissing her bare torso when I reached her. She put her hands on my head and tugged my hair.

          Ilse followed me out of the pool and into the hot tub. I stepped in before her and she sat between my legs and rested her head in the crook of my neck. I kissed her head and she moaned.

We sat together like that for 10 minutes before we got out and put our robes on. She walked into the kitchen ahead of me and sat at the island. I started to cook dinner and she watched me cook. Every once and a while I leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. She smiled at me and scrunched her nose.

I laughed at her and got back to cooking. This went on until I was done. Ilse was always the one to start conversation that lasted a long time. After we finished eating we cleaned the dishes in a daze, still talking like we just met. "I love you." I said out of the blue.

          We were on the couch and she was laying in my lap. She arched her back so she could look at me. "I love you too." She said, scrunching her carefully freckled nose.

          "David, I want to talk to you about another child. But hear me out." She held her hand out as if to silence me. "This is what I think." She cleared her throat.

"I think, before we have another child and before I'm ready to carry another baby some things need to happen. First, we need to focus on improving ourselves and each other as parents and as partners. We also need to tell the truth." She gave a sideways glance at me. "The only reason I didn't ask you what happened when you were away is because I was happy to finally have my life back and I didn't want to be on your case. I knew you weren't in a good place last year."

"We need to take it easy on having kids. We need to be there for our girls while they are still young. We can't have the distraction of another baby." I nodded.

"I understand very well." I replied to her.

"Good." She said grinning. "We'll start when the girls come back." She turned around and climbed up in top of me and gave me sweet kisses on my face and neck. She gently tugged my hair and moved to my lips. I sat up and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I picked her up and walked up the stairs to our room, our lips still attached.

          I set her down and closed the door. She took off her robe and let it fall to the floor. I set her on the bed and she helped me out of mine. She kissed my stomach and looked up at me. She stopped and crawled up the bed. Ilse sat and waited for me to follow. I did, obediently and crawled on top of her, finding her lips and running my fingers through her hair. "Okay David." She said. "Stop teasing."

          So I kissed her and then stoped teasing, like she said.

***

          "Oh DAVID!" Ilse yelled. I collapsed next to her and kissed down her forehead, ear and neck and then back up again. We were both still breathing heavy. She moved her sweaty body closer to mine and wrapped her arms around me.

          "Oh man, Ilse." I gasped. "And the girls are going to be out all weekend?" She giggled uncontrollably and nodded into my neck.

          "Yes baby." She played with a strand of my loose hair.

          "Very good then." I replied.

          "I'm going to take a bath. Would you like to join, Mr. Jones?" She asked me.

          "You bet I would." I called after her as she walked into the bathroom and I scurried happily after her.