Love Around the World 22: Vietnam

*****

Epilogue

Vivian as a forty-year-old wife and mother to our three children is as beautiful in my eyes today as she was on the first day that I met all those years ago. In fact, she's grown ever more beautiful and damned sexy with each passing year. Given that I'm the same age, I hear all these horror stories about men who just lose interest in sex as they get older, and that women somehow become sex-craved monsters.

No such problems with me. Vivian and I have always had matching libidos and we have barely slowed down over all the years we've been married. Even three pregnancies and then raising our children didn't stop us from showing each other as much love as possible.

Granted, it all started with our wedding day. She had her dream beach wedding. The reception was held at a nearby pub, where there was a buffet provided, plenty of drinks and dancing, and it was a time to bring two families together and all our friends were delighted for us. All our friends knew we'd been perfect for each other from day one and were genuinely relieved that we finally admitted our feelings and were now going to be happily married for the rest of our lives.

Our honeymoon was on a Pacific Island. It was a week filled with sex. A couple of days, we barely left our beachside cabin as Vivian was so damned horny, she genuinely left me completely drained by the time we were asleep in bed that night. But she just seemed to know upon leaving that we'd conceived, and three months later, I walked in the door to find her sitting next to our mothers, the three of them crying happy tears before I was hugged tightly by all of them as she'd had confirmation that she was pregnant.

In the space of six years, we had three little girls. Did I want a son? To be honest, I never cared if we had a mix or just all boys or all girls. All that mattered was that my wife had a good pregnancy, no complications during the entire nine months leading up to the date of birth, and our baby was born healthy when the time was right.

I was now surrounded by women in my life. In addition to the wife that I worshipped and three daughters who knew they had Daddy wrapped around their collective little finger, I'd made my mother so happy by providing grandchildren that she was an almost constant visitor to the home that Vivian and I had set up a year after we were married. Emily and Tim were also constant visitors, Emily as excited as my mother. Tim might not say as much, but I watched him whenever he would bounce one of his granddaughters on his knee, making her giggle ever so loud. I saw the twinkle in his eye, the tear sliding down his cheek. We'd do that thing men do, swap a glance, clear our throats, swallow down our obvious feelings, but I knew that man felt so much love for his three granddaughters. Spoiled them rotten.

Our girls were now teenagers, but they were beautiful girls, well-mannered and behaved. They knew they had parents who were still deeply in love with each other. Vivian had never been shy about displays of affection. They were quickly used to their parents hugging and kissing, and cuddling on the couch. We were only careful when it came to sex. We just waited until they were asleep before Vivian would grab the back of my head, kiss me hard, and then beg me to make her scream.

She screamed a lot into a pillow nowadays.

For her fortieth birthday, I presented her with a folder. Within it were two first-class tickets for return flights to Vietnam, with one week at a five-star resort in the north of the country, and one week at a five-star resort in the south of the country.

"Mum and Emily will split looking after the kids," I had explained, "We need some time away, and we'll take the girls when Natalie reaches sixteen."

"Good thing I'm back on the pill, Mark. I'd be worried about you knocking me up again otherwise."

"Could always get the snip. You know I've offered."

She kissed me hard and leaned back just enough to meet my eyes. "To be honest, I kind of like the danger that my husband could still knock me up even today."

I felt her eyes narrow as she shuddered. "Might just throw your pills away if you want to live dangerously..." I growled.

"Get a room, you two!" Melanie exclaimed, our oldest daughter before our three daughters giggled from their position together on the couch.

"At least they love each other," Danielle added, our middle child, "Think of all our friends and the divorced parents..."

Vivian rested a hand on my chest. "You really think I'd want to leave a man like your father?"

"Hmmm. Daddy is rather handsome," Melanie stated.

"But you're beautiful too, Mum," Natalie added quickly, "You always look good together."

The night before we were due to fly out to Vietnam for the second time, we'd made love and Vivian was snuggling into my side as she always did. Feeling her kiss my cheek, she whispered, "I'm still more than capable if you really want another one. I loved feeling our child growing inside me, Mark. Giving birth wasn't easy, but raising our children..." I felt my shoulder get wet as she released a few tears, wrapping my arm tighter around her. "I know we're both forty now and we could look forward to life..."

"We'll always be parents to our daughters. We were in our twenties and still living with my mother. Hell, we were married, but we had to save and save to afford a house."

"So no babies. Just lots of and lots of sex?"

"Vi, you are incorrigible."

"And you're complaining because?"

"Not complaining. Just thinking that we're going to wear each other out while we're in Vietnam."

"I hope so. We did the tourist thing last time. Two weeks of relaxation, and we'll have a lovely room with a big bed for lots of activities."

"Fun activities that will include us being naked all the time."

Rolling up onto my lap, she leaned down and kissed me before leaning further down to my ear. "Me love you long time, husband?"

"I'll love you for the rest of my life, wife."

Resting on my chest, I felt her relax before she whispered, "And I'll love you for the rest of mine."

We did have a fantastic second time in Vietnam. And five years later, we took our daughters who fell in love with the country as much as their parents did.