Page 53 of Miles. Alton & The 9:04
He sighed, “I was 14, and had just really started growing into my head.Aunt Sue took me to a plastic surgeon, but the cost was high.”
“She offered to get you an ear?”Mae said, watching his face.
“Yes, and she’d made arrangements to pay it off so I could feel whole,” he said, looking her deep in the eyes.“Funny thing was, the ear never made me think I was less than, but to me, it gave me a superpower.”
“A super power?Like what?”
“In school, any kid who picked on me because of the ear, I knew I didn’t want to be around.A kid who tried to defend or protect me, was a person who cared about people,” he said.“In college, dating, and relationships in general, it went pretty much the same way.Any woman who believed I was an easy mark with self-esteem issues, I learn to spot.A person who made conversation about it wasn’t someone I wanted to be around, either.My ear came with a story.It made me into a better man, so I figured, why mess with it?A woman who loves me wouldn’t care about me missing a lobe.Do you care about me missing the lobe?”
“No, I don’t,” Mae said smiling.
“Then, we’re good.”
Thom found a resolution he sought as they discussed heading to Chicago in the upcoming weeks to turn in her vehicle and rent a moving truck to clear her apartment.It would also be the same weekend to meet Mae's family.He wasn't ready.However, neither was Mae's family ready for Thom Brown.
Chapter Seventeen - Box
Thom Brown wasn't aman who colored inside the lines of the box.He saw the box.He would even acknowledge the existence of said box, but nowhere in his spirit did he feel it necessary to remain confined to the containers.
Mae pulled cookies from the oven fifteen minutes before her husband was due to arrive home.Dinner was ready and sitting on the stove in the orange cookware, warming on the burners.The cookies, taken from the baking sheets and neatly spaced on cooling racks, sat on the counter to greet her man when he came in the door.However, today, Thom came through the back door fifteen minutes early.Wearing a comfortable dress and a pair of sandals, Mae usually tried to freshen up a bit before he arrived home.
She turned to find him leaning against the doorjamb, watching her pluck yellow leaves from plants she'd over-watered.The look on his face made her stop what she was doing.The dusty, sandy, brownish, almost blond hair sat askew on his head and the green eyes bore into her.
“Thom, is everything okay?”
“No,” he said, moving towards her.“I haven’t been able to get shit done all day.All I keep thinking about is you.”
“Me?”she said smiling, “Tell me, Mr.Brown, what you've been thinking.”
“Mary, would it be okay if I simply showed you where my mind has been?”he asked, moving closer.
Mae smiled at him, putting down her snips and removing her gloves.She nodded to him, wondering where his mind had taken him today which made him leave work early.
“Oomph,” was also she could utter as Thom lifted her in his arms.Strong hands held her close to his body, wrapping her legs about his hips as he took a slow stroll down the hall to the master bedroom.
Thom placed her feet on the floor while his right hand removed her panties and the left hand took off the dress.She wasn't sure what magic act he used to get off her bra, but she was bare before him, unashamed of her nudity, excited about what came next.Before she knew it, they were on the bed in a tangle of arms and legs.Mae didn't know how the man managed to get out of his clothes so fast, but he was nude, his hands were everywhere, and her body responded.
