When the Time is Right

Once the food was ready, she blow dried her hair then got dressed knowing this was quite likely her last chance to wear a cute little dress she'd had since the start of summer and never worn. She bought it thinking it looked great on her, which it did, but until now there'd never been an occasion to wear it.

It was pale yellow with a two-inch white stripe around the hemline which fell to a couple of inches above the top of her knees. The spaghetti straps were very thin, and it was soft enough and opaque enough to allow her to wear it braless, and she couldn't think of a single reason not to wear it like that.

Rita had a pair of flat, white sandals she'd also been waiting to wear and slipped those on before adding a strand of pearls and calling it quits.

As far as makeup, she wore a little mascara and some clear, shiny lipgloss that was more than enough.

Not sure if the wind would be blowing, she pulled her long hair into a ponytail and used a gold, metal barrette so it would lay flat in back rather that have a thick knot.

When she went to check on Rik, she was very surprised to see him dressed and ready to go. She was even more surprised by what he said.

"Gee, Mom. You look really pretty."

"So you think this okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. You look really nice."

He smiled then told her he thought Brian would like it, too.

"Honey? Are you okay with me, you know, seeing Brian?"

"Yeah. He's like really super cool," he told his mom. "And I can tell you're always happy whenever he's around, so that's pretty cool, too."

She walked over to him and hugged him and told hims she loved him.

"I love you, too, Mom," he said as he held her extra tight.

Rita couldn't remember the last time that had happened, and she savored every moment as she held her son.

What didn't surprise her was Brian showing up exactly at ten o'clock.

"Hi!" she said as she let him in.

He'd always looked nice to her dressed for golf, but he looked almost...preppy today...and even younger. He was wearing a sweater vest over a button-down shirt with shorts and a pair of Birkenstocks. It wasn't a look she normally cared for on a man, but it worked quite well for him.

"You look very nice," she told him.

"Thank you, but you just stole my thunder," he told her before kissing her hello.

"I'll settle for a kiss any day," she said.

"Even so, you really look...wow!" Brian told her.

"I've been waiting for a special occasion to wear this, and I think spending the day with you qualifies," she let him know before kissing him again.

"Are you guys ready?" Brian asked.

The ghost town was about twelve miles out of town to the south, and took close to half an hour to get to. The weather was clear, sunny, and warm, and all three of them were enjoying the scenery as they drove along. That was true for Rik only when he looked up from his smart phone, but even he thought everything looked amazing.

There was a docent on site until the 8th of October, so Brian paid the $5 fee for each of them then waited for the next tour to start.

The older man with wire-rimmed glasses gathered the half-dozen people around then started his spiel:

"In the spring of 1880, prospectors Charles B. Culver and W. F. Coxhead left the boomtown of Leadville to search for silver deposits in the Castle Creek Valley. After vigorously promoting their findings back in Leadville, Coxhead returned to find 23 more prospectors had joined "Crazy Culver" in the camp they named Castle Forks City. They formed a Miner's Protective Association, built a court house, and laid out the streets in only two weeks. Each of the Association's 97 members paid $5—or one day's work and $1—to draw for building lots. By 1883, the camp, now called Ashcroft, was a town with a population of perhaps 2,000 with two newspapers, a school, sawmills, a small smelter, and 20 saloons—bigger than Aspen and closer to the railroad in Crested Butte.

As quickly as it boomed, Ashcroft went bust. The mines, which initially produced an amazing 14,000 ounces of silver to the ton, were just shallow deposits. Promised rail links to Crested Butte never materialized. Major strikes in Aspen, already the county seat, lured away investors and workers. By 1885 there were just 100 summer residents and $5.60 in the town's coffers."

The happy couple held hands the entire time the docent talked as he led them from one abandoned old building to the next. When the tour came to an end, he thanked everyone for their attention then asked if there were any questions. No hands went up, and with that, they were on their own.

The three of them went back to the car and grabbed the basket, the cooler, and a large blanket then found a quiet, private spot to picnic just like another couple and family of four was doing about twenty yards away.

"This is so nice," Rita said as she passed out sandwiches.

"Yes, it is," Brian agreed.

He looked at Rik and asked him if he enjoyed the tour.

"Yeah. It was really cool thinking about the people that lived here and stuff way back in the day."

Neither Brian nor Rita laughed at his simplistic summation. They were just happy to know he found it interesting.

They spent a fair amount of time discussing what Rik thought he'd like to be one day, and the discussion ended with his mom saying, "The only thing I care about is that you go to college and graduate. After that, you can be anything you want."

"Did you go to college?" Rik asked Brian.

"I did. I graduated when I was 22 then went to work for five years before moving out here two years ago."

Rita had been wanting to ask what Don meant by 'Mr. Wall Street' but hadn't been comfortable asking. She still wanted to know, but this didn't seem like the right time either, and when he didn't offer any information about what he went to work doing, she let it go.

"Cool," was all Rik said before asked Rita about her college days and medical school.

She was the kind of person who opened up easily to someone she trusted. Rita spoke freely about her childhood, her teen years, her first boyfriend, and then went on to answer Brian's main question. The rather lengthy-but-enjoyable conversation lasted well over an hour, and by the time it ended, Brian felt like he'd known her for years.

They spent a couple more hours talking then looked around one more time before packing up and heading back to town.

As they drove, Brian asked Rita how she felt about coming to his place for dinner.

"If you're not tired of me, that is."

"No. I'm not tired of you," she told him with a sweet smile. "Not even close and that sounds very nice."

He dropped them off then walked Rita to the door where he kissed her goodbye and told her he'd be back around 6pm. She kissed him then assured him she'd be ready—again.

When he picked her up a couple of hours later, Rita was still wearing the same dress, but she'd done her makeup completely and let her soft, blonde hair down. She'd added a short-waisted cardigan sweater and matching pearl earrings while changing out of her flats and into heels that looked to be at least three inches high that were also white.

In a word, Brian thought Rita looked positively enchanting.

He'd changed, as well, but given no real thought to what he was wearing until Rita told him again he looked very, very nice with a smile that made his 'heart hurt', whatever that meant.

"I'm no cook, so I had everything catered," he explained.

"You had all this done on that much notice?" she asked as she saw the 'spread'.

"Someone owed me a favor," he offered without any additional explanation.

"Oh. Before we eat, let me show you my humble abode," Brian said knowing it wasn't anything magnificent, but it was the proper thing to do.

It was a pretty standard house with one exception. He'd turned one of the four bedrooms into a game room, and Rik went gaga when he saw it.

"This is like the coolest thing EVER!" he said when he walked in.

There was a huge TV on the wall with a DVD player and sound system along with three different game consoles, remote controls, and several theater-like chairs.

"Wow. This is very impressive for a golf and skiing instructor," Rita said as she walked arm in arm with Brian.

There was a keyboard and a set of drums in one corner and an air hockey table in the middle of the room.

"Can we play?" Rik asked as he ran his hand over it.

"Sure. We can do that," Brian told him.

"Just not until after dinner," his mom said.

He showed them the rest of the house before they sat down to eat, and Rita knew there was more to the high-end finishes and very expensive items strategically placed around the house. Brian might be teaching sports, but there was no way he could afford all that on what he made.

It was around 7:30 when they finished eating, and just as he'd promised, Brian played air hockey with Rik (and his mom) until the boy was sick of it. They then played video games until almost ten when Rita said it might be time to get going.

"But we were just gonna watch a movie! Can we, Mom?" Rik pleaded.

"You have three days to get ready for waking up for school. If I let you stay up late, this is it until Thanksgiving vacation. Got it?"

All her son heard was 'yes' as he went through the huge stack of DVDs Brian had accumulated. Rita sat through an action movie that was over the top for her, but being able to snuggle up with Brian as well as watching her son having such a good time made it bearable.

The biggest surprise of the night came minutes after the movie ended when Rita got up to use the bathroom and came back to find her son sound asleep in the big, soft chair he'd reclined to watch the movie.

"He is out!" Rita said. "I hate to wake him up, but..."

"Then don't," Brian said as he walked up behind her and put his arms around her.

"No?" she asked quietly.

"Not unless you want to go right now," he said very quietly. "I could play the movie again at a low volume in here and we could go...talk."

"I like...talking," she said as he put her arms on top of his.

Brian hit 'replay' and reduced the volume by half then pointed to a large, soft blanket Rita grabbed to cover him up with.

"He sleeps like the dead," she told Brian as they walked out of the room.

"That's good to know," he replied as they walked back to the living room.

Brian waited for her to sit down first then sat beside her on a very high-end sofa she knew cost a ton of money.

"You have very nice taste," she said, hoping he might take the bait.

Instead, he put his arm around her and said, "Yes, I do. That's why I'm here with you."

"Oh. I see," she said, quickly forgetting about furniture. "So...what did you want to...talk about?"

"Talking. Right. Well, I was hoping we could maybe...get better acquainted," he told her as he leaned over and kissed her softly.

"Mmmm. I like getting acquainted even more than...talking," she told him.

Within seconds, she pulled him on top of her, and to his surprise and delight, Rita offered him her tongue which sent his body into overdrive.

"Is...the time right?" Rita asked as she looked into his eyes with a smile.

"Are you okay with that? With Rik asleep in the house?"

"A thunderstorm wouldn't wake him up," she said. "You don't make love louder than a thunderstorm, do you?"

"You are a very interesting woman, Rita Gordon," Brian told her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh? How so?" she purred as she kissed his neck.

"You are so...sophisticated and elegant and yet you have this...other side to you."

"Does that bother you?" she asked, hoping and praying it didn't.

"No. Not in the least. In fact, I find that side of you very appealing."

"Then if you'll take me back to your bedroom and lock the door, I'll show you that side...for better or for worse."

She was still nuzzling his neck then gently bit his ear when she finished speaking.

"Oh. I...I see," he told her.

"Oh, no. You ain't seen nothin' yet," she told him with an almost evil smile.

They walked hand-in-hand past the movie room where Rik was sleeping. He was so 'gone' he was drooling.

"We're safe," Rita said as they continued down the hall.

She looked the door behind them then turned to Brian and said with a very playful smile, "I can be quite...nasty."

He laughed quietly then said, "I'm starting to believe you."

"You'll BE a believer when I'm done with you," she warned as she began unbuttoning his shirt.

An hour later, he was gasping for breath as Rita laughed happily.

"Told you," she said.

Brian was holding his lip and tried to speak.

"I thin' you drew bluh," he said referring to the lip she'd bit so hard he'd tasted something warm and salty.

"Are you complaining?" she asked, that evil smile back again.

"No. Not at all," he told her.

"Oh, good, because I was just getting warmed up."

"Wait. That was a warm up?" Brian said, pretending to be afraid of what might be coming next.

"Uh-huh. But if you beg for mercy, I may not hurt you too badly," she teased. Or at he least he hoped she was only teasing.

"You are truly an enigma. A very hot, sexy, beautiful enigma."

When Round Two ended, Brian's back had long, deep scratches in it, and he felt like he'd been in a war.

"Are you always this...insatiable?" he asked.

"No. Sometimes I really, really get excited," she told him.

Rita rolled over on top of him then said, "Please tell me this okay."

"If this is the real you, it's very okay," he told her.

"It is. At least in the bedroom," she said.

"Then I love it," Brian told her before rolling them over and getting on top.

"Oooh! Again already?" she asked hopefully.

"No. Not yet," he told her as he looked into her beautiful eyes.

He stared for quite some time before Rita asked him what he was thinking.

"I think...I'm falling in love with you," he told her very quietly.

"Please don't tease," she said, suddenly very serious.

"I'm not. Rita, I...I've waited my whole life to find someone like you. I honestly wondered if I ever would, and then you walked into my...class," he said with a smile to lighten the mood.

"I was fortunate to be loved once by a wonderful man. But I have to admit I, too, truly wondered if I ever would be again."

She smiled then said, "And then I...walked into your class."

"So it's not just me?" Brian asked hopefully as he brushed her pretty hair back.

"No. Not if you're falling in love," she told him.

"I am. With you."

"Yeah. Me, too," she said very sweetly before making love to him again only this time it was slower and more traditional and very, very nice.

It was a little after 2am when Brian asked if she needed to leave.

"Not that I want you to, mind you."

"Rik knows how much I like you, and he's old enough to know that men and women who like each other...spend time together," she told him.

"So does that mean you're staying?"

"On one condition."

"Anything," Brian told her.

"Why does Don call you Mr. Wall Street?"

Brian laughed then rolled over on his back and said, "Well. That's because I worked there for five years."

It was close to 4am when they finally stopped talking and fell asleep in each other's arms. The only thing Brian didn't tell her was how much money he'd made and still had in investments; an amount that would have shocked her. It wouldn't have changed how she felt, but it would have truly blown her mind.

Rita was up by eight and well before Rik who not only didn't ask why they were still at Brian's when he finally got up, he only wanted to know if he could watch another movie.

She and her new boyfriend both laughed as his mom said, "Maybe another time."

That 'other time' came that very evening when they returned for dinner, one that Rita cooked for them.

They alternated houses for the first month of school when Rita agreed to move in with the former Wall Street trader who'd told her he loved her every day since their first time together.

"I love you, too," she replied immediately each time he said it.

She did love him, and as wonderful as that was, Rik also loved this man who loved both him and his mother.

Having a father figure in his life caused Rik's overall demeanor to change dramatically and for the better as he learned to trust Brian as a friend, and within a year, as a parent.

The two of them married right there in Aspen the following Spring. In fact, they used the tiny chapel in the hospital where Rita had worked with her closest friends joining in their celebration.

Rita never returned to the hospital, but she did open up a free clinic in town after Brian assured her and reassured her he was more than happy to fund it until they got up and running and could start taking in donations.

She worked for free from 8-4 four days a week, and that was more than enough, as Brian continued teaching and found himself enjoying it as much as always. The big difference was he knew he had something even more pleasant to return each day—a beautiful, sexy (and extremely sexual) wife, and a 13-year old boy he was proud to call his son.

Rita watched very carefully each time she asked her handsome husband if he wanted another child, and each time she knew he meant it when he told her he had everything he'd ever dreamed of with her and their son.

For both of them, life together was about as good as it gets as they spent their days doing what they loved and their nights together loving one another and being the best parents they could be to Rik.

Their son did indeed go to college. But unlike his mom, he didn't go to medical school. He developed a fascination with flying and joined the United States Air Force and became a pilot, flying the most sophisticated jet in the military's arsenal, the F-35 Lightning.

Neither Brian nor Doctor Rita Erickson rarely ever thought about the day she'd saved her future husband's life. The only time that happened was when something on television reminded them.

"Oh, look! She's performing CPR," Rita would say.

Brian would smile at her then say something like, "Right. And who knows? That might just be their very first kiss."