CHAPTER 4 – OH ADAM

Still in shock, Milly gaped at the heap of blankets and wood that somehow swallowed Adam. She quickly rushed over to see if he was injured and helped him up.

"Are you–"

"I––uh––I didn't mean to…"

"Let me help you up…"

"I'm fine really–"

They both stammered over their words and clamored over the pile of bedding until both of them were upright. Slowly looking around at the mess that had been made in mere seconds, shock became amusement, starting as stifled giggling that erupted into full on laughter. Standing at the foot of what used to be a bed, they started picking up the mess, with Milly gathering blankets and pillows as Adam tried to gather the frames.

"Maybe we should just leave the mattress on the floor tonight, and leave fixing this all to tomorrow," Milly said, her mood in a much better state than it had been minutes ago.

"Leaving your wife to sleep on the floor her first night here? Absolutely not." Adam wasn't sure if he was embarrassed or resolved to do better, but he was fixing this bed right now, that was for sure.

"Here, let me hold the post while you get the frame in line," Milly responded.

"I can handle this, really," Adam answered, knowing full well she was going to help anyway.

Piece by piece, they got the posts upright and put the frame back together. Milly had even tried to drag the mattress back on it until Adam picked the whole thing up and plopped it down without batting an eye. She started putting the covers back on and was surprised when he started tucking things in too.

"I thought this was women's work," Milly said.

"Oh," Adam muttered, "I just figured, I've been making my own bed for so long now, and I…"

"It's fine, I like the help." Milly thought to herself about the house she was taking over. There had been seven boys living here all by themselves before, without a woman to clean or cook or do laundry. She supposed they had learned to do it themselves, all except for cleaning. Wanting to ease the tension, she thought of something else to say.

"My father used to help my mother around the house. Little things, like helping her tidy the dishes after dinner, or helping her pin up laundry before he went out to the fields and got his hands all dirty," Milly said.

"It wasn't like that for my parents," Adam replied. "Ma would give Pa a kiss on the cheek as he left the kitchen to head to work in the morning, and Pa would give her a kiss on the cheek as we sat down for supper. Other than that, they each did their own work."

"Oh. I didn't mean to–"

"You didn't." he said quickly, not meaning to make things awkward again. "I think they got used to having too much work to do around here, we were some of the first people out here from the trail and new we needed to get settled. Besides, I know they still loved each other, I have six younger brothers to prove it." Adam sat down on the finished bed, knowing he had made it even more awkward.

"I bet having siblings is nice, despite the added stresses they bring," Milly diverted, as she walked back to the corner to continue undressing. "I don't have any, and sometimes I think about how different life would've been with a brother or sister."

"I can guarantee you this, I wouldn't be here today without the boys, that's for certain. But then again, sometimes I think having just a few less of 'em wouldn't be so bad either."

Adam meant to keep talking, but by now Milly had nothing on but her chemise, and he knew he was gawking. Milly turned around slowly, to see if he was looking at her. She knew she shouldn't be nervous, this was her husband after all, but she still was nonetheless.

Adam quickly stood up and walked to the chest of drawers, purposefully keeping his eyes averted and looking very intently for something at the back of the drawer he randomly opened, trying to keep his mind off the fact that his new wife was changing into her nightgown. When he heard her move towards the bed, he began to undress. He wasn't shy about his body, but he was concerned he might not be able to, keep control, as the guys put it, so he tried to put on his long johns as quickly as he could.

Milly walked slowly, admiring her husband's physique. Thinking dreamily, she stopped somewhere between her husband's biceps and looking lustfully at the rippling back muscles, as she bumped into the bed. She realized where she was, and then looked carefully at the bed, unsure of what she was doing.

"Which side?" she asked.

"Huh?" Adam replied, finishing the last of his buttons before turning around.

"Which side…do you normally sleep on?" she extended her question this time, looking at up at him as he turned to face her.

Adam looked at her, then the bed, then back to her, before he realized what she was asking. "Oh, it doesn't really matter, you pick whichever one you'd prefer."

Milly didn't have a preference either, but she slipped over to the left side and sat down facing the window. "I'll bet the sunrise looks lovely from here, I'll take this one…if you don't mind."

"No, not at all."

Both of them slipped under the covers, silently, and looked up at the ceiling. Milly had thought she might need to get another blanket, but lying inches from Adam, she could feel the heat coming off him. She wouldn't need a blanket after all. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

Both of them knew what was supposed to happen next. While they were strangers, both were grateful to be physically attracted to their spouse. Adam was mesmerized by Milly's beauty, and Milly was entranced by Adam's physique. Still, neither of them knew where to start.

At the end of a very long silence, Adam turned to face Milly, and said sweetly, "Should we just start with a kiss goodnight?"

Milly said yes––not with her words but with her lips. She knew Adam was a good kisser from their wedding ceremony a few hours ago, but this was something different entirely. His lips ignited this passion, and his wandering over hoer body fueled the flame. She wasn't sure what he was doing or how he was doing it, but she didn't want whatever it was to stop.

She ran her fingers through his red curls as his lips roamed from hers over to her ear, where they slowly traced a line down to her collarbone, as she simply sighed,

"Oh… Adam…"