Passion Moon – Part 1

Note from the author:

This story is built around a dilemma I’ve often thought about (and maybe it’s been fueled by classic romance movies from the 30s and 40s with this plot twist lol).  It’s the dilemma of a person who gets married, and for some reason their spouse is reported dead or missing, so the remaining spouse remarries after a certain amount of time, and then the missing/presumed-dead spouse turns back up.  What is the solution? From a Christian, legal, and emotional standpoint, I find it very complicated.  Several years ago, I wrote this story to create a possible answer to the dilemma.  I just tweaked it today, so here is the first half.

 

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It was night—a warm summer night with a light wind off the ocean.  Allison wished she wasn’t alone.  The hotel was classy and she enjoyed these short visits to her aunt and uncle in Laguna Beach, but she was still alone.  And being at the beach didn’t help.

Once, the beach was her place.  Hers and Rad’s.  They met on a Florida beach where Allison was vacationing and Rad was working as a lifeguard.  He loved boats and swimming and being in the sun.  So did Allison.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

“Whoa!  You all right, miss?  It looked like you were struggling in the surf!”  His voice was deep and clear—very charming.

Allison got her breath, hoping her swimsuit hadn’t ridden up in any embarrassing place.  “Oh, thank you!  Usually I can swim in just about . . . any conditions, but . . . I got a cramp in my leg out there and . . . it hurt so bad!” she laughed.  “I’m sorry . . . to have caused you so much trouble.”

He lowered himself to squat beside her.  “Well, I am getting paid to do this, so you just made it worth the county’s while,” he grinned.

“You’re a lifeguard?  You must be awfully strong.”  Allison couldn’t keep her eyes from flitting over his muscled chest and arms.  He was wearing white swim trunks that hugged his hips.  She liked them.

“You didn’t tax me that much,” he answered with a chuckle.  “But are you sure you’re all right?  Surf’s rough today and it can be a challenge to swim.”

“As I found out!  I think I’m fine.  Thank you for rescuing me,” she said, holding out her hand gratefully.

He took it.  “It was my pleasure.  My name is Rad McKelvin.”

“I’m Allison Tate.”

“Are you a native or just visiting?”

“I’m on a vacation.”  Then she laughed.  “Can’t you tell I’m not a native when I foolishly go swimming on a day when the ocean is so wild?”

Rad laughed.  “An understandable mistake.  Vacationers want to enjoy the water.  But . . . I’m surprised a lovely girl like you is here alone.  Don’t you have family?  A . . . a husband?  Boyfriend?”

“My parents are here.  They took the day to see the fort at St. Augustine.”  She dared to smile archly through her eyelashes at him.  “Why do you want to know?”

“Well . . .” he hedged, “I just wondered . . . if you were . . .”

“I’m not married and I don’t have a boyfriend,” she informed him, deciding to relieve his curiosity.

Now he smiled.  “I do sunset boat tours too.   Can I invite you and your parents for a sail this evening?”

Allison’s eyes sparkled.  “That sounds so lovely!  Thank you!  I’d would love to do that.”

 

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Allison’s parents met Rad and liked him, and more dates followed.  Rad lived in California but was taking a month off to help his sister out.   She was pregnant and her husband was away on business.  He’d gotten the lifeguard job for the interim.  Allison convinced her parents to prolong their trip so she could see where this relationship with Rad might go.  It went forward.  Rad proposed and they got married at St. Augustine, then took a week-long honeymoon in the Caribbean.

 

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The white silk gown, black coat and slacks, white dress shirt, and various underthings lay in heaps on the floor.  An open window let in the warm tropic wind and the occasional flash of summer lightning.  The bed creaked.  Moans and grunts sometimes formed words, hot, eager, desirous words.

“Oh Rad!” Allison quivered, her eyes locked on her husband’s face as he thrust into her.

His breath was fast and hot.  “I’ve been aching to feel every inch of you,” he muttered.  “Allison, baby, I love you!”

“And I love you!”  She pulled his head down and plunged her tongue into his mouth while welcoming his full manhood in her wetness.

He groaned, enjoying her lips while his hands slid up and down her sides.  The feel of her bare breasts quickened the flow of blood in his loins.  He moved faster, more excitedly.  Being inside his bride was unbelievable.  He thought he might faint.

Her hands wandered, caressing his suntanned back and shoulders, then down to his clenching buttocks.  She was gasping now every time he pushed into her; the power and fullness of feeling him fill her with himself was too much.  It didn’t matter that they were soaking the bed with their arousal and sweat. 

“Touch me right here,” she encouraged, directing his hand to her trembling clitoris.  “Rub it!  Make me crazy!”

Rad obeyed, eager to see his wife crazed with pleasure.  Her feminine beauty, raw and naked underneath him, was already such a sight.  To bring her to a grand climax would be even more enthralling.

They rocked together in shared passion, giving and receiving.  The slap of moist flesh mixed with lustful moans filled their little bungalow.  Any nearby neighbors would surely have heard the frenzied lovemaking of the honeymooners, if the tropical storm hadn’t offered a cover for the new couple, shielding the sounds of their passion.

Between Rad’s steady, deep churning of her womanhood and his play on her clit, Allison soon lost it. 

“Rad . . . oh my God . . . Rad!  Yes!  Yes!” Shaking with the tightening of her intimate muscles, she felt a rush of pleasure.

Rad went over as she clamped around him.  Growling, he pounded her through her orgasm and felt his balls eject semen through his tender manhood.  “Good . . . God!  Ugh!  Ugh!  Yes!  Oh God, yes!”

“Oh Rad! What you do to me—!” Allison gasped, holding him as he emptied himself inside her.

“You make me mad for you,” he replied breathlessly, teasing her lips with his. 

They kissed gently, their skin sticking together, their shared love running out and wetting her bottom.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Their passion for each other outshone their passion for seaside living.  They settled in Rad’s apartment in San Francisco.

Then the war in Korea broke and Rad reenlisted in the Air Force.  It was 1950 and every pilot was needed to fly choppers.  Allison knew she must let him go, though she was scared.  She had crossed the chasm separating youth from womanhood during sad times, and the losses of World War II still left an ache inside her.

After five months of separation, they had one reunion.  For two days and nights they practically lived in bed, ravished with each other.  Allison rememorized her husband’s face, now more stressed and worn out from helicopter missions.  Rad on his part couldn’t get enough of the tender girl in his arms; yes, she was beautiful, but her gentleness attracted him more.  Her patience quickly poured water over any frustrated spark he let slip.

On a Sunday Rad went back.  Allison went with him to the airport and had a hard time letting go of him.  And then a week later the news came: Radley McKelvin was missing in action.

During those long, dreary months Allison wrestled with despair.  She wouldn’t believe him dead until the proof was undeniable; after all, MIA meant he could still be alive.  But months without any word about him wasted her heart.  Sometimes her prayers of pleading melted into anguish, her tears breaking from her like water wrung from a cloth.  This was truly a test of her faith.  In her head she knew God allowed nothing that was not for good, but convincing her heart seemed impossible.

That was about the time Charlie Freeman walked onto the scene.  A Navy man discharged for injuries sustained in the early months of the war, he often bumped into Allison on her walks on the beach.  They didn’t actually formally introduce themselves to each other, just exchanged pleasantries and small talk.  Allison appreciated his consideration and evident respect for a military wife’s privacy.  She had no idea that she was very much a lure to the limping sailor.

The friendship progressed.  Charlie was a gentleman and kept everything strictly proper, maintaining, for Allison’s benefit, a hopeful outlook concerning Rad.  Yet he found himself falling for the sweet, sad-eyed young woman.  It took willpower not to take her in his arms to comfort and caress her when she looked so despondent.  Never before had so many fights erupted in his thoughts as feelings collided with morals.

He thought maybe he had an answer to the problem when he and Allison heard a report about Rad’s chopper squadron.  It had been utterly decapitated mid-flight by Communist anti-aircraft firepower.  There was no way anyone survived.

When she heard the news, Allison felt as if her very soul had frozen to death inside of her.  At first she couldn’t grasp it, but when the pain finally burst its boundaries and spread through her consciousness, her weeping almost brought Charlie to tears.  He held her, longing to give comfort and only managing to stroke her back and her mussed hair.

Healing began, though it took months.  All through that time, Charlie stood by Allison with the gentle kindness of one who has understood pain.  Each moment spent in the warmth of his empathy clarified for Allison what kind of man he was.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

They were walking together on a foggy day along the beach.  Charlie glanced at Allison, noting that her eyes were brighter and her face had some color.

“You’re beautiful,” he blurted.  Then he looked down, embarrassed.  “I’m sorry . . . that was rather inappropriate . . .”

She broke in gently, “No, Charlie! It was very sweet and kind.”  She paused, then, even more gently, said, “Thank you.”

“I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage…of the situation, I mean,” he hastened to assure her.

“I know you aren’t,” she answered.  She stopped walking and looked out over the gloomy ocean.  Then she sighed.  “You’ve been so thoughtful and discreet.  I . . . I can’t tell you what it’s meant to have your friendship.”

Charlie’s jaw tightened slightly at the word “friendship”, but he kept silent. 

She went on.  “As hard as this has been, I think . . . I think I see something of what God has been doing.  He called Rad home to be with Him.  Now . . . I have to make the choice to start a new chapter.  Rad won’t be in it—” and her voice broke, while tears glimmered in her eyes.  “But God is in it.”

“As long as you let me, I’m honored to be in your life,” Charlie said earnestly.

Smiling gratefully at him, she resumed a lazy walk.  Her next words surprised him.  “It’s been so long since a man said I was beautiful.”

He looked keenly at her, daring to hope.  “Could you imagine hearing it . . . from me?”

Chuckling, but blushing warmly, she remarked, “Well, did just say it to me.”

“No, I mean . . .” he stammered, “I . . . I want to tell you every day.”  He had stopped walking, and Allison had to turn around to look at him.

He took a breath.  “It’s been a year since we heard about Rad—a year in which I’ve fallen for you as I’ve never fallen for any woman.”  His words tumbled out, as if he feared she’d interrupt.  “I want to take care of you, to shield you from as much pain as I can, to . . . to love you.  Allison, will you let me be that man?”

Allison gazed at him, eyes full, heart tender and moved.  His kindness made it easy for her to give him her respect and affection, and now her love.

“Yes,” she whispered, a glad smile lighting her face.  “Oh, yes, Charlie!  I would be the one who is honored!”

Tentatively, Charlie came close.  “Can I kiss you, sweet Allison?” he asked softly.

“Yes, Charlie.”

Maybe it was the unstoppable memory of Rad’s kiss, or the newness of this fresh love, but Allison began to weep as she felt herself wrapped in the arms and kissed by the lips of this noble friend.  That flame was not dead inside her; she was still able to love and be loved.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

They were married and Allison sold her apartment to go live with Charlie.  She found a happy niche working alongside him as he implemented ideas to help other war veterans and military couples.

Their future seemed bright.

 

To be continued next week in Part 2.