Between the Lanterns(21)

“Oh that’s not all, babe,” he said, excited to show her the next part. “I also upgraded our lanterns! First, I programmed them to be voice-activated. You can call for them from anywhere in the house, and they’ll come to you. Second, they can use whatever kind of light you want, now. I added different filtered colors and intensities. And last, I removed the old chips that linked them to the Tesla generator outside of town to put in ones of my design, instead. These new ones still draw power from the Tesla core, but they pull a heck of a lot more juice. If need be, we could power the whole house off of what these two lanterns can take in.”

Eyes wide with surprise, she said, “Now that is something I honestly do like. Thank you, sweets. You did too much for me. I only made a janky, old, wooden robot statue.”

August picked up the wooden automaton again and smiled at it, and told his wife, “Quit talkin’ crazy, Sam. This is the coolest gift I’ve ever gotten. I love it. Now I’m gonna go start cookin’ dinner. I’m thinkin’ Nutricator meat loaf would be mighty fine.”

He turned on the Nutricator, and it began to power up, going through it’s initial cycles, getting ready the processed proteins and fibers. Before it could cook anything, though, it beeped with an error message and shut down.

“Works like a charm, babe,” August said with a grin. “Now, would you care to teach me how to make a REAL meat loaf?”

“Sweets,” she said, already putting on her apron, “nothing would please me more.”

Later that night, they sat in their living room in between the lanterns, which were glowing with a soft luminescence – just enough for Sam to read a book, and for August to sketch some plans while looking at his new wooden figurine.

Suddenly, August shot up to a standing position and looked around for the source of some unseen problem.

“Sweets, is everything ok?” Samantha asked him, her heart beating fast.

“Do you smell that?” he asked quietly. “Somethin’ is burning.”

Samantha became even more frightened at the mention of burning, and hollered, “Oh no! The meat loaf!”

They both dashed into the kitchen, ready to do whatever it took to rescue the meat loaf, and, barring that, to save the kitchen and house if they were in jeopardy, too.

But as it turned out, everything was fine in the kitchen. The meat loaf had another fifteen minutes in the oven while the green beans and corn on the stove were simmering away ready to serve.

“Well, it’s not comin’ from in here,” August said, sniffing the air. “I swear, though. I can smell fire. Somethin’ is burning.”

“I do, too, sweets,” Samantha agreed. “I just can’t tell where it’s coming from.”

They did a slow walk through the house together, looking for any bad signs: faulty wiring, smoke, fire, or anything out of the ordinary and suspicious. They found nothing unusual at all.

“Babe, I guess it’s coming from outside somewhere,” he said, shrugging. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Maybe,” Samantha agreed. “But I’m gonna look and see if it’s any of the neighbors’ houses.”

Samantha went outside, and August went to pull the meat loaf out of the oven, as the timer had gone off.

When Samantha came back inside, the table was already set and they were ready to sit down for dinner. They took their time and savored the fabulous Southern cooking. They ate slowly to enjoy every bite of the real food, made by hand.

After dinner, the happy couple went to their bedroom to get ready for sleep. They put on their nightclothes, brushed their teeth, and did a few other bedtime routines before lying down in bed to read a little more before going to sleep.

“August, I was genuinely terrified when I thought the kitchen was on fire,” Samantha whispered. “Partly because I was looking forward to eating a meat loaf that we had made together, but mostly because I was scared we’d lose the house. This old house and the diner are my two favorite places on Earth. I can’t stand the thought of losing, either.”

“I know, love,” he said, putting his hand on her bare thigh under the covers. “I don’t want to think about it, either.”

August moved his hand up and took hold of her’s. It was warm and soft, just like the rest of his wife. He pulled their intertwined hands out of the covers and kissed her knuckles one at a time. Samantha looked into his eyes and saw a need there. The same need she felt deep within her.

They moved together gently at first,; caressing each other, hands sliding under nightclothes, searching for sensitive and hot places. As they ran their hands all over each other, Samantha leaned in and licked August’s lips very lightly. He opened his mouth and welcomed her kiss.

August removed her bra tank and cupped her breasts in his hands. He kissed each in turn, then reached down and yanked at her panties, desperate to get them off.

She replied in turn, tearing his boxers to remove them. Her want was as urgent as his. Their desire for each other was on a cosmic level. They each felt deep in their souls that no two people had ever lived on Earth and been so in love… and had become one so successfully.

They moved together in a pleasurable rhythm. August looked down into her face and found joy and passion within her deep, dark eyes. Samantha reached up and stroked at his chest.

“You feel so good, August,” she moaned. “Don’t ever stop.”