the steak cuts. I’ll be busy
all afternoon solving that one.” With a hug for Laurel and a wave
to the worried young woman, Addy scurried off to the kitchen.
Ellie Tanner slid in beside Laurel, instantly
spilling everything about her relationship with her husband. She
was married to Daniel Tanner. Adam was friends with Daniel. Ellie
had met Daniel while she, and her mother Darra, had stayed at the
farm after Darra’s divorce. Desperation was in Ellie’s voice.
“You need to figure out that you are in love with him, and that he loves you, Ellie. That love will give
you the trust you need to open yourself to him—your body, your
mind.” This was Laurel’s intro to the advice she was about to
give.
“But I do!” Ellie flipped her hands to the
sides of her head in exasperation, and then buried her face back in
them, elbows on the table. She was blushing from embarrassment and
frustrated with her situation.
“Ellie, is there something you feel ashamed
or scared of?” Softly, Laurel pushed her to open up.
Ellie's frustration boiled over, and she
bared her intimate life for Laurel. Ellie Tanner would tell her
friend some of the most private details of her marriage. Her
reservations about oral sex, her difficulty climaxing, her image
issues with her round bottom, her scar, her none-to-big breasts,
her fear of Daniel leaving her, everything—splayed into the air for
review.
Looking side-to-side to assure herself they
were still reasonably alone that afternoon in City Creek, she
continued, “What do I do?!”
Laurel had never been known to mince words
with it came to sex. She just couldn’t see a reason to hide
something so beautiful. As far as she was concerned, the world’s
view of sex, body image, and morays were convoluted, ill formed,
twisted, and wrongly promoted.
“Honey, two people who love each other wholly
will learn to worship each others’ bodies completely. He loves you.
I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He loves your boobs and round
butt and doesn’t see the scar. Let him give you pleasure and you
give back. He loves everything about you. Let him have you, let him
see you.”
“Ack! You mean, like, do it with the
lights on?” Ellie sounded panicked.
“Yes, for starters. Let him undress you with
the lights on. Turn them off before you climb into bed. He will
appreciate the view, Ellie. Relax and let him see all your curves.
Big or small, everything is right for him. Not every man likes the
same thing; we aren’t all driving a Ford. Your body is what he wants. You are what he wants. You are beautiful—don’t try
to hide it. Offer yourself to him completely. There is no greater
offering to the man you love. Once you see that he really loves to
see you, to feel you, you will relax and enjoy the experience too.
He loves you Ellie. Trust him.”
Ellie nodded, her pouting lips and misting
eyes told of overwhelming emotion. Ellie was the daughter of one of
Laurel’s oldest friends. While Ellie had trusted her mother, Darra,
with a lot, there were just things that “Aunt Laurel” was the
“go-to gal" for. This was one of those times. She hugged her
confidant. “I’m sorry for being so emo, Laurel. I don’t want to
lose him; I don’t want it to fall apart because of my hang-ups.” A
tear trickled down her face.
“Hun, it’s not going to, or you wouldn’t be
here talking to me. Don’t worry, Ellie; he loves you. You .”
Ellie dabbed at her tears with a napkin and moved to slide out of
the privacy of the booth.
Laurel blew her a kiss. “Hey, Ellie,” she
stopped her as she was about to walk past the end of the plush red
booth, “stop by the mall and see if you can figure out what
Victoria’s little secret is. Get something that makes you feel
sexy. He’ll appreciate, it too. You are his gift, let him enjoy
unwrapping it.” Ellie nodded and rushed out with new
confidence.
Laurel let out a big sigh with a humph, her
bottom lip out, blowing her bangs skyward. Why was a