Failing to Hold On

And uh, since you ain't denying it? Makes you my husband," Birdie declared.

"Birdie? I'm starting think you a lot smarter than I'd guessed," Ford smiled and Birdie gave him a devilish little grin before returning her attention to the meal.

Leaving the truck stop, Birdie clung to Ford as they cross the street to their motel. She did not release her grip on him until they entered the lobby. Then she quickened her step to walk directly in front of Ford, buttocks shimmying and shaking.

"Birdie, take this bed; closer to the bathroom," Ford suggested when Birdie flopped down on one of the beds.

"Which one you sleeping in?" Birdie asked, sitting up again.

"That one, I guess," Ford shrugged.

"Then. Husband, this is the one I'm sleeping in," Birdie said.

"Birdie, told you, didn't bring you..." Ford started.

"And done told you, I didn't come all this way for nothing," Birdie said, calmly shrugging out of her tee shirt.

Her chest was little more than two swells. But her areolae were large, nearly half-dollar sized, and dark brown. The nubs of her nipples were sticking out a quarter of an inch, crinkled hard.

"I know I ain't..." Birdie started to say, indicating her flat chest.

Ford silenced her with a kiss. He pressed his lips firmly against her small mouth and wrapped his left arm around her back. He put his right hand against her belly, searching for her heart dangle.

"Mm," Birdie moaned into Ford's mouth as his hand rubbed up and down her soft belly.

She wrapped both arms around Ford, squeezing him tightly. She then fell back, pulling him on top of her. Her soft tongue licked at his lips, then slid into his mouth.

She unsnapped, then wiggled out of her shorts, leaving her in the bed, dressed in only her high top canvas sneakers.

"Uh, someone's way over dressed," Birdie whispered into Ford's ear.

"Shit; condoms," Ford remembered as he used his feet to kick his leather tennis shoes off his feet without unlacing them.

"Purse's right there; grabbed a box from Donna's locker," Birdie said.

Birdie's kisses, her touches had inflamed a need in Ford. Looking down at her chubby little body further fanned that need.

He finished undressing, then grabbed the strap of Birdie's purse. She grabbed the swinging projectile and dug around in the purse.

"Where the, shit! No, no, here they are," Birdie mumbled, then squealed.

Her squeal came from Ford grabbing her ankles and pulling her plump legs open. She squealed again when he placed his mouth over her hairless pussy.

Growing up, Ford had been best friends with Robert Becker. He and Robert did everything; cowboys and Indians, soldiers, football, building tree houses, falling out of tree houses.

Ford went to Harvester's College in Colfax, Missouri. Robert joined the United States Navy. The night before Ford left for college, Mrs. Becker had Ford come over, to help her put Robert's things into the attic. After they stacked the four cardboard boxes into the sweltering hot attic, Mrs. Becker had Ford help her with another box in her bedroom.

Her box had been covered by a very thick profusion of dark brown hair, even though the hair on her head had been a light blonde. The overweight woman showed Ford how to lick her box, how to finger her box, how to pleasure her box.

She also showed the dumbstruck Ford how to coat her tonsils, and how to plow her dirt road.

"Remember how do that stuff?" Mrs. Becker said, squeezing Ford to her large, floppy breasts. "You'll never be lonely, stud."

"Yes ma'am," Ford finally found his voice.

Nearly twenty five years after Mrs. Becker showed Ford how to eat pussy, Ford showed Birdie he'd learned his lesson well. He licked, sucked and fingered the girl's tight pussy to two screaming orgasms before rolling the condom onto his hard cock.

"Umgh!" Birdie grunted when Ford slid his hard cock into her.

She wrapped arms and legs around him as he drove himself into her, hard.

"God damn kid!" Ford chuckled. "Uh, take the tennis shoes off, huh?"

"Fuck me," was Birdie's response.

"Umgh!" Birdie grunted as Ford slammed his cock into her pussy, hard.

She had another screaming orgasm then lay, grunting and thrashing against Ford. He stiffened and began to fill his condom.

"Ooh, whew, aw damn, man," Birdie grunted and wheezed.

She softly kissed Ford's lips.

"Man! Mr. Mercury? For an old guy, you fuck good, hear?" Birdie said.

"Old guy?" Ford laughed, gripping the base of the condom and pulling his cock out of her sloppy pussy.

"Well, yeah, you what? At least thirty, huh?" Birdie smiled.

"Thirty four next week, Bitty," Ford said.

"Thirty, for real?" Birdie asked.

"And I'm serious, take those goofy shoes off, huh?" Ford demanded, tossing the knotted condom into the waste can.

"Ford! You almost old as my momma?" Birdie asked as Ford pulled his underpants on.

"Shit, Barbie, like I know how old your momma is?" Ford asked.

"Birdie. And she's thirty um, thirty six," Birdie said.

"And, it's Ford," Ford said, pulling the still nude girl to him.

"Mm-hmm," Birdie agreed as they kissed.

Ford was nearly sixteen inches taller than Birdie; sixty nine was uncomfortable and unfulfilling. So, Birdie straddled Ford's torso and sucked and licked his cock while he fingered her pussy and anus. Then he let her win, let her have the shower first.

"So, what is your real name, anyway?" Ford asked as a still nude Birdie came out, brushing her wet hair.

"Don't laugh," Birdie warned. "But it's Bernice. Bernice Dawn Silverstein."

"Birdie it is," Ford agreed.

Ford showered, resisting the urge to masturbate. There did not seem to be a shortage of almost hot water and he allowed the needle like spray to knead his shoulders.

"By the way, next time we drive that long? You taking half the shift, hear?" Ford said, using the last towel.

Uh huh," Birdie agreed, still brushing her hair.

"Bernice Dawn Silverstein, what are you watching?" Ford demanded, noticing that she had the television on, and a pornographic movie was playing.

"Um, 'Cum Shots' I think," Birdie said. "And you ever call me Bernice Dawn Silverstein again, your balls are mine, hear?"

"I'm so scared. You go to church?" Ford asked.

"Uh, I'm half Baptist and half Jewish, what you think?" Birdie said. "No. I'd just confuse everyone there."

After a few moments of stiff cocks spurting obscene amounts of semen onto faces, tongues, breasts and buttocks and pussies, Birdie switched the television to 'Anal.' She grabbed both pillows from the other bed and plopped the pillows onto the bed she and Ford were sharing.

"You snore?" she asked, snuggling against Ford.

"Pretty sure I do," Ford admitted.

"Donna says I do, but there's no way she could ever hear me over her own damned snoring," Birdie said.

"Good night," Ford said. "Uh, don't watch too much of this; think you'll go blind if you do."

"I love you," Ford swore he heard just before slipping under the heavy blanket of sleep.

The television was still broadcasting images of buttocks being speared by large cocks, large vibrators, and even a large fist. Ford's morning erection was pressed against Birdie's chubby buttocks. His left hand cupped her slight breast swell and her nipple was crinkled and hard against the palm of his hand.

"Mm, that's, that's a real sensitive spot," Birdie mumbled when Ford kissed her shoulder.

"Yeah?" Ford asked and bit down lightly.

"Okay, you can do it," Birdie moaned.

"Do what?" Ford asked, lightly biting her shoulder again.

"Stick that monster up my butt," Birdie moaned and shuddered.

"Not until I've had coffee, oh, and biscuits and gravy," Ford said, kissing Birdie's jaw.

"Hmm, that does sound good," Birdie agreed.

She dressed quickly while Ford used the bathroom. Then she rushed in and flopped down on the commode as he sauntered out.

"Next time, need let me go first," Birdie called out from the bathroom.

"Uh huh. I get extra points remembering put toilet seat down?" Ford asked, pulling on a pair of shorts.

This time, Birdie did not walk in front of Ford, did not tease him with a swiveling wiggling walk. She clutched onto his hand from doorway of their motel room to booth of truck stop diner.

"Please tell me y'all got biscuits and gravy," Ford asked the waitress.

"Mister, what kind place y'all think this is? 'Course we got biscuits and gravy. And it's a sausage gravy, not that regular old milk gravy," the woman said, pretending to be offended.

After their breakfast, Birdie and Ford returned to their room. Birdie pushed Ford to sit on the bed and sank to her knees in front of him.

"Mm-hmm, damn, Birdie," Ford groaned as Birdie managed to swallow all of him down to the tuft of pubic hair.

"Better than that Miss Plastic?" Birdie asked.

"Who?" Ford asked.

"That Chelsea my shit don't stink plastic bitch," Birdie asked, stroking Ford's cock.

"And again, who?" Ford asked, combing his fingers through Birdie's hair.

"Good answer," Birdie said and again swallowed Ford's cock down her gulping throat.

Housekeeping interrupted them almost an hour later. With guilty giggles, Ford and Birdie left their room. Ford grabbed a pamphlet advertising the hotel's rental of conference and convention rooms.

"What need that for?" Birdie asked as they stepped out into Oakleaf's sweltering heat.

"Address, in case we get lost," Ford admitted.

They drove around, looking at shopping strip malls, a large Burns & Burns grocery store, the Connelly College and the Connelly Cougars Stadium.

They saw some nice apartment buildings, saw some less than nice apartment buildings, saw some beautiful homes, and saw some homes that might have been beautiful forty or fifty years ago.

"Hungry?" Ford asked, spotting a sign for a small place called Bully Burger.

"Could eat," Birdie agreed.

Bully Burger had been standing, mainly by the grease adhering one board to another, in the same place for nearly sixty years. The cast iron grill was the original grill, the grease was the original grease.

The line was long. It moved steadily though. Birdie clutched onto Ford's arm and glared at any woman that looked at Ford. Even a gentle kiss to the top of her head didn't mollify her.

"Why you being like that?" Ford whispered.

"You my man; just letting all them bitches see that," Birdie said, not bothering to whisper.

As they ate their burgers, Ford studied the young woman. Chelsea would have assumed that any errant glances they received were for her. And she would have played it up for her admiring audience. And if any of the glances had been blatant, had Ford been upset by any of the glances, Chelsea would have ramped up her posturing.

Birdie assumed any glances they might have received were for him, not her. And she made no bones about letting any and all know she did not appreciate them looking at her man.

"Next thing we need find is the Oakleaf Depot," Ford mentioned as he wiped his hands with a napkin. "Man! Ralph needs see napkins they use here, huh? Always took 'bout eight or nine of his cheap ass napkins get my hands."

"Gets them napkins from his brother," Birdie explained. "Oakleaf Depot? One next to the hotel?"

"Next to..." Ford wondered aloud as they got into his truck.

He looked at the address on the hotel's pamphlet, then looked at the address that Edgar Carroll had texted to him. He leaned over the console and kissed Birdie on her cheek.

"Yeah, the one next to the hotel. What else you want do?" Ford asked.

Monday morning, Ford dressed in his suit and tie. Birdie smiled as he knotted his tie, then kissed him. She gave him a tight hug and told him he would do great.

"Soon as you done? Need get back here and tell me all 'bout it, hear?" Birdie demanded.

Birdie sat on the bed, spread her legs, and ran a finger along her hairless slit. She then licked her finger clean.

"I'll be waiting rriigghhtt here, like this, all right?" she husked.

Edgar Carroll was a tall man, with a permanent squint to his blue eyes from hours of driving. The man had a firm handshake, and a ready smile. He did look at Ford's suit and tie and assured Ford that he would not expect suit and tie at his office.

"Decent shirt, jeans ain't falling apart? You'll be fine," Ed said, taking a seat. "Now, tell me what brings you to Oakleaf, Texas?"

Ford told him about the steady decline of Farnsworth; he could see the writing on the wall. Ed smiled and stopped Ford.

"Okay, Ford, I know about Bobby and Pops; I've stopped off in Lowenburg couple times," Ed said. "Okay, so they're going under. There's still other places could use you. Why Texas?"

"Edgar, can I be honest with you?" Ford said.

"Hmm, had assumed you WERE being honest with me," Ed said, then flashed a smile. "Sorry; my daughter's a freshman at Connelly. I'm used to having to be a smart ass with Annabelle."

"Connelly, right over there? My girlfriend and I drove right by there; pretty campus," Ford said.

"Yeah, and it's not cheap. But, thank God, she's there on a basketball scholarship, her and her friend Grace," Ed bragged.

"Anyway, couple weeks back, writing's on the wall, Farnsworth's not doing great, then my girlfriend up and tells me she's going down to Mardi Gras with her old boyfriend. Lawyer tells me I leave her? Be stuck paying child support for our three kids, she'll get total custody," Ford said.

"Mardi Gras is tomorrow; needed do a run to DeGarde. Told me don't bother until Wednesday," Ed interrupted.

"Hmm?" Ford asked.

"Said your girlfriend's running down to Mardi Gras. Then said you and your girlfriend went by Connelly other day," Ed clarified.

"Oh. Different girl," Ford said. "No, when said I was leaving Lowenburg, Birdie asked if she could come. Said yeah, no reason she can't, next thing I know, she's my girlfriend."

""Gave a waitress a hundred dollar tip one night," Ed smiled. "Next thing I know? She's going on runs with me. Can't get rid of her."

"Anyway, yeah, Ed. There's other places in Arkansas could use me. There's probably even places in Lowenburg can use me. But got pay her six, seven hundred bucks every month? Really don't want have give her money every month AND watch her running around blowing my money," Ford admitted.

"All right. That's an honest answer," Ed nodded. "Now let's talk logistics."

Ford began working for the Oakleaf Depot the very next morning. That evening, Ed took Ford and Birdie, along with Ed's wife Lisette to Stone Grill for steak dinners. Lisette and Birdie were fast friends and spent much of the meal whispering and giggling with each other.

"Damn, could have taken them to Taco Bell, much as they paying any attention to the food, Huh?" Ed teased.

"And know, sure as I'm sitting here? All she's going talk about is the bread," Ford agreed.

Each month, on the first, Ford sent a transfer of seven hundred and fifty dollars from his Great Oak Savings & Loans account to Chelsea Adams's account with First National Bank in Lowenburg. The first day he opened the account, he had sent seven hundred and fifty dollars while he and Chaivon Atchley, the Customer Service representative sat, filling out the paperwork.

Chaivon Atchley was a truly stunning strawberry blonde woman, with ice green eyes and slightly crooked smile. Although not dressed provocatively, it was hard for Chaivon to conceal her quite large chest. When the five foot six inch woman stood to shake Ford's hand, Ford could see that she also had a narrow waist and lush hips. Whether consciously or not, Ford did check Chaivon's left hand and smiled at the sight of a wedding ring and engagement ring.

"And you say you want to add your girlfriend to this account?" Chaivon asked. "Sir? I'd advise against that. I'm not saying your girlfriend would, but all kind of horror stories about putting someone else on your account and they just drain it dry."

"Chance I'm willing to take," Ford smiled.

When Chelsea and he had moved in together, Ford had added Chelsea to his account. For the first three years, there had been no trouble. Then, when Bobby had given Ford a five thousand dollar bonus, Chelsea had run out and bought that car. After that, Ford had closed the account and opened another one, in his name only. Chelsea had screamed, then cried. But she had not said she was sorry about spending his bonus. And she had refused to see how she had violated his trust.

"Tell you what. Honda Accord pops up in my parking spot? Then we'll take Birdie off the account," Ford had smiled tightly.

May First, Birdie watched from the kitchen of their one bedroom apartment as Ford sat in the living room, typing out the transfer. Her blue eyes filled with tears as she could see the tears on her man's cheeks. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and drizzled the buttermilk into the dry ingredients.

"Making them cheese biscuits Lisette told me 'bout," Birdie called out.

"Damn, Birdie, trying make me fat?" Ford joked.

"Yeah, why not?" Birdie agreed. "I already am."

"Damn it, woman, how many times got tell you? You are not fat. You are just right," Ford demanded.

After their supper of pork roast stew with the cheese biscuits to sop up the gravy, Birdie grabbed a can of beer and sat next to Ford on the small couch. She leaned heavily against him as he sipped his own beer.

"Why we don't take a long weekend, go see them?" she quietly asked. "What, Labor, no, no, Memorial Day's coming up. Why we don't go see them?"

Ford felt the sting of new tears begin. He felt her fingers grip his bicep.

"Much as it hurt first time had drive away?" Ford finally said. "God damn, Birdie, would kill me have leave them a second time. I bet Randy's grown at least a foot since we seen him last and I'm sure Nicole's into all kind of shit; you know she's going be our wild child and Carrie? Probably walking by now. And you want me go see them, just to turn around and leave them all over again?"

"Know what? Need see a lawyer. Hear? I don't care what that other dumb ass said. You their daddy. We got just much right as their momma does," Birdie snapped. "Need see a lawyer, see about we can get them couple weekends, we can get them for vacations. We got just as much right as Miss Plastic."

"We do?" Ford asked.

"Yeah. I mean, shit, you their daddy, I'm their step-momma," Birdie became agitated. "We got have some rights, right?"

"Know what? Yeah, let's go see them. Memorial Day weekend we got a bunch of runs make, but I'll see if Ed'll let me have weekend after," Ford decided after a long moment of deliberation.

"And see about getting us a lawyer," Birdie demanded.

"Us, huh?" Ford smiled.

"Yes. Us. Us. As in, me and you," Birdie said, taking his can of beer from his hand.

She put both cans on the coffee table, on coasters, then swiveled and straddled his lap. She grabbed his handsome face and peered into his eyes.

"Us. You a part of me, Mr. Volkswagen and I'm a part of you. And them kids; they a part of you too, so that makes them a part of me," Birdie declared.

"Love you, you know that?" Ford said.

"Well, duh. No shit you love me," Birdie smiled and kissed him.

She leaned her head on his shoulder. They sat, holding each other for a long moment.

"And, Baby? I love you too," she whispered.

She snuggled tightly against him. She kissed his neck softly.

"You my man," Birdie whispered. "Better believe I love you too."

The next morning, Ed looked at the calendar, flipping it to June. Then he shrugged and agreed that Ford could have the weekend off.

"Yeah, that'll work. Why don't you and Birdie leave on out of here, take Thursday, that's the thirtieth, take Thursday off and we'll see you back here on Tuesday?" Ed suggested.

Theresa White, Ed Carroll's attorney suggested that Ford contact David Upjohn, a classmate of hers that practiced law out of Oldenburg, Arkansas. She texted Ford the contact information.