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Thanks to darkniciad for agreeing to edit this series.

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"I've got great news!" Louisa burst in the door, hair flying like streamers out of a Happy New Year party horn.

Richard stepped forward from the kitchen, smiling his end-of-the-workday greeting. "What is it?"

"My proposal was accepted! I get to present at the conference!" She beamed and fairly quivered from head to toe.

"I knew you'd make it!" Richard swept her into his arms. Really, this living with Louisa thing just got better and better. She was smart, sexy, funny, a good friend, and someone he was proud to be with. Who could ask for anything more?

"You know, a special occasion like this calls for a special dinner."

"Would you like to go out? You could be off k.p. for one night."

He shrugged. "I don't mind it. Besides, I kind of have something special planned. Unless, of course, you'd prefer going out."

"You have something pla ? now how did you know to plan something?" she asked suspiciously. A pleased smile twittered at the corners of her mouth.

"Oh, dang," he snapped his fingers in mock discouragement, "the cat's out of the bag. I guess a little bird told me that somebody's work was accepted at the national level..."

"This was a little bird named Kim, I take it." Kim was Louisa's co-worker and close friend.

"Hmm, let me see, ... yep! So how about crab-stuffed whitefish with Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut?" The young man looked pleased with himself.

"Of course, yes. You know my answer to you is always yes." Then she laid a hand on his arm. "Will you cook while I tell Jerrod?"

"Of course! You don't need to ask me." He tousled her hair. "Silly girl."

Louisa grinned and pecked his cheek, then scampered off to the computer. Who knew when her son would get the email? It was impossible to know when he was in the field, or when he might next have access to a computer. But when he did, a message from home would be waiting.

Over homemade cheesecake Louisa laid out the final plans for the presentation she would make.

"The Mandala Library," he read. "What does that mean?"

"Well, let me back up a bit. You might remember that one part of the conference has to do with designing libraries of the future."

"Mm-hm." Well, he sort of remembered her saying something like that.

"And I think most of the proposals other people sent in probably have to do with high-tech stuff. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that when patrons come into a library, the latest high-tech gadget isn't necessarily the first thing they're looking for."

"So what is the first thing they're looking for?"

Louisa gave a sharp, satisfied nod. "Exactly." The look in her eyes held a message.

Richard puzzled it out. "You don't know what they're looking for."

"Right! So absolutely everything needs to be easy to find." She pointed to the center of the drawing that resembled an old-fashioned keyhole. "The main desk is here, so you see it as soon as you come in."

"What if you want a computer instead of a person?"

"Terminals are here" ?she pointed along the diagonal lines of the large lobby? "along the walls next to the New Books section. But getting back here, see, the main desk is curved, like a bubble. Then the first concentric circle holds reference materials and large print media..." She went on, pointing out the children's area near the front, and the quiet reading rooms near the back.

"This is well thought out. Why didn't you show me all this before?"

"Aww, you know. I didn't want to shout about it and then have it not get in."

"You can always tell me stuff." But his reproof was mild. Louisa pushed herself into his arms and kissed his neck.

"So you like it?"

He snuggled her deeper into his embrace. "It's Şerifali Escort wonderful. You are going to win a Medal of Brilliance."

* * *

Louisa was almost done unpacking when a small box near the bottom of her suitcase caught her eye. The ribbon looked like it would be easy to untie, but the note stayed her hand: Do not open until after your presentation.

Little question marks danced around her head in a celestial ballet. What could it be? She hefted the weight. It was not all that heavy, less than a foot long, and big enough in girth that she could not wrap one hand completely around it. A certain thought crossed her mind but she shook her head. No way.

She set the box aside and focused on the conference materials. Thankfully she was not first the next morning, so there was time to scope out the room. With any luck, she'd get in a practice run-through as well.

She went for a swim in the luxurious hotel pool, surprised that almost no one else was there. At the far end, a pair of lovers enjoyed the hot tub. A faint smile crossed her features as she remembered her man at home. They would only be apart for two nights, but already she missed him ? more than she thought she would, she reflected.

At the wall she flipped over and slid into a lazy side stroke. Richard. Where was their relationship going? Was it enough that they made each other happy, from one day to the next? She checked her gut but could not get a clear reading. Maybe she just needed more time to think, to feel ... what was that word he had used ... to evolve. Yes, that was it. She pictured him, his hazel eyes crinkled in laughter.

Images washed through her mind. Richard, cooking. Dancing with her, making her feel more fleet than she really was. Mowing the yard, the sun pulling moisture from his pores ... she watched from the window as his sweat trickled over his shoulders, his nipples ... his young, muscular physique glistened in the hot light ...

Louisa ended her swim and went straight up to her room. As soon as she was inside the door she peeled off her bathing suit and kicked it, along with her robe and towel, onto the bathroom floor. Her hair was wet but she didn't care.

She flopped on the bed and pulled the blankets around her. "Richard. Ohhh..." She willed herself into the fantasy of watching him in the sunlight. In the dream he hugged her, his belt buckle digging into her stomach. The scent of his sweat punched her in the nose. His mouth descended to hers in a passionate kiss.

Louisa whimpered and tended her breasts, imagining Richard's hands instead. If he were with her, he would suck those hard pink nipples, she knew it. She lifted her bosom and bent her head forward. The tongue flicking over the sensitive flesh was not his but it gave a spark to the dream.

She was starting to get cold, so she crawled under the covers. For some reason burrowing into the layers made it easier to fantasize. Louisa wrapped her arms around a pillow and prayed her lover's name. Her fingers dipped between her legs. Maybe she should shave, she knew he wanted her to. The hair tickled back, answering her fingers' greeting.

"Um. Ah. Unh," she thrust harder, aching for her lover to fill her. She flogged herself, contorting her body in a solo dance of frustrated desire. The peak, when she reached it, was lonely.

Across the room, still in her suitcase, the gift from her lover waited.

The morning dawned yellow and clear as a retro happy-face. Louisa came to consciousness in a tangle of sheets, blankets and pillows. Mentally she climbed into the motorboat of her day and started her power-up checklist. Big day today!

She bounded from the bed and scurried for her robe at the sound of a knock on the door. The big bouquet of pink and burgundy obscured the clerk's face. Göztepe Escort From Richard, of course! She thanked the man and sent him away with a crumple of green. "Go get 'em, baby!" read the note.

Louisa breathed in the fresh perfume and hugged the air around the flowers, avoiding the thorns' prick. Her Evinrude revved. She smiled at herself in the mirror and gave a confident nod.

The presentation went exceedingly well. Louisa knew her material backwards and forwards, inside and out, even upside down; and her enthusiasm for the design caught up the audience. It was fun to see so many faces looking pleased in her direction. The Q