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Christine took in the fresh scent of the summer air around her, closing her eyes only briefly before opening them again to watch the clouds. Her husband was beside her, propped up on his elbow as he read poetry to her, his rich voice soothing and almost melodic. Her gaze shifted from the sky to her husband’s face, and she smiled warmly at him.
His eyes briefly flicked up from the page to meet hers, only to pause in his reading and let out a soft laugh when he noticed she’d been looking at him. “What is it, my love?” he asked with a bit of a laugh.
“Nothing. I just married a very handsome man,” Christine softly replied as she reached up to run her fingers over his porcelain mask, a silent reminder that her opinion of his features extended to his deformity.
“I think, my love, that you are very kind and very biased.” Erik caught her hands in his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. As he did so, he studied her lovely face and gave her a smile of his own. “But thank you.”
Christine sighed quietly, though knowing he was only teasing, she didn’t chide him. She simply pushed herself up from her horizontal position on the picnic blanket, braced against her elbows as she gave him a kiss.
At this action, Erik dropped the book of poems he’d been reading from in favor of leaning closer to his wife as he melted into their kiss. Slowly, he rolled onto his back and pulled her with him, allowing his now free arm to slip around her waist. He lost himself in the moment and simply kissed her, held her, enjoying being able to share this intimate exchange with her.
She was the one to break the exchange first, her eyes closed as she pressed her forehead against his. “Erik, have I told you today how much I love you?” she whispered.
A few years ago, on their wedding day, Christine had promised her husband that she would make sure to tell him every day exactly how much she loved him. True to her word, she did tell him every day, often multiple times, even on days when he accidentally upset her or when they fought—which, thankfully, was not very often.
Erik couldn’t help laughing quietly at hearing her question, giving her another brief kiss before he replied, as he often did, “Yes, my love. Several times.”
“I just want to be sure that you know,” Christine said, just as she had many times before, as she lifted her head and opened her eyes.
“How could I forget? You tell me frequently,” Erik assured softly, bringing his hands to cup her cheeks. “Now, we have only until tomorrow to enjoy what is left of this little weekend holiday, so why don’t we discuss what else you would like to do this afternoon, hm? I’m sure you would like more entertainment than just my reading Shakespeare to you all day.”
Christine thought this over, and though she adored having him read to her and truly could have been content to simply listen to him do so, there was something else that popped into her mind that she had desired to do. This prompted her to ask, “Would you fancy a swim, my dear?”
A soft chuckle escaped her husband. “I’m afraid we did not bring proper swimming attire, my love. In hindsight, perhaps we should have thought to do so when my friend Charles mentioned his cottage had a pond on the property.”
“We should have,” Christine agreed. “Still, the lack of proper attire needn’t prevent us from having a bit of fun. We don’t exactly need attire of any sort, if you think about it. Our undergarments will do just fine.”
“Christine!” Erik chided, his eyes widening at the suggestion. “That’s entirely indecent.”
“And no one will see. We’re completely alone out here. Come on.”
Before Erik could protest again, his wife stood and began to unlace her dress, causing him to quickly forget why he was even scandalized in the first place. His lips pulled into a smile as he began to unbutton his waistcoat, coming to the realization that he could not bear to deny his wife anything she asked of him—nor did he want to, if he were to be completely honest with himself, if it meant she would continue to smile that beautiful smile of hers.
And so, out of his suit and only mildly appalled at himself, Erik found himself slipping into the clear, cool pond alongside his wife for what would turn out to be—surprisingly—a rather enjoyable swim and a romantic afternoon.