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Click here"He's not so scary," Slater told Kittrick matter-of-factly, as though he hadn't been hiding just behind his father's leg when Colin said hello.
Mickey nudged Shannon. "If you listen hard enough, you can hear Julie's ovaries actually cry out."
"Baby, MY ovaries are crying out."
Mickey raised an eyebrow. "Want to duck away and let me take care of that?"
Shannon laughed and kissed him. Whatever she whispered in his ear lit him up.
Mickey wasn't wrong. Watching Colin with the kids was just a cherry on top. Julie decided, assuming they were still a couple, that when her shot wore off, there wouldn't be a re-up. With Brendan, she always sought an excuse to put off children. With Colin, she looked at him and it was like her body said, "Why yes, please, if he's on the menu, we'll have him."
Maybe they could practice that night.
* * *
After a few stops to some local businesses and a sweep back through the festival for some purchases they wanted to make but not necessarily carry until they were on their way home, Colin and Julie walked back to her place. He hung her new painting on the wall for her as she supervised, which amounted to her eyeballing the level's bubble he put on the painting and saying, "Mm, left. No, right. No, left. No, right," until Colin caught on and chased her to the couch. Julie was totally ready for a reenactment of their first time together, but when Colin kissed her, he hesitated and pulled back.
"Is it time to talk about whatever's on your mind?" Julie asked.
He nodded, and swallowed hard. "I'm sorry. I've been trying to figure out how to tell you this, and it's not been easy. If I've been distracted, it's not you. It's really not."
She sat upright and pulled him down next to her. They cuddled up together and Julie said quietly, "Are we breaking up?"
"No. But if you wanted to after I finish, I'd understand. It's what I've been bracing for."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"I hope not." He sighed. "This is going to get dark."
"Oh. Silje."
"Yeah. You need to know before getting into a relationship with me where I'm coming from." He took a moment, trying to think how to best shape the words he needed to speak. "Suicide wasn't an easy decision for her. It was something she thought about a lot at her lowest points, but it wasn't until the last few years of her life that we started to talk about it seriously. She developed a lot of personal health problems, things I won't go into unless you really want to know the details. Things that embarrassed her, things that hurt her a lot. Medication was difficult because of what she was already on and she wanted to be as clear-headed as she could be. That... wasn't always possible."
Julie squeezed him tighter, and he kissed her shoulder before continuing. "She started having spells where she wasn't really lucid. They started coming more and more frequently, until they dominated her life." Colin's voice tightened. "That was the point when Silje decided... when she..."
"Oh, Silje," Julie whispered.
"I should have..." Colin's breath came out in a tremble. "I should have listened sooner. I made her fight because of me and she was so tired. And finally, one day, I realized she wasn't asking me to help her. She was begging me. She made a video, one for her parents, one for your dad. We went up to the mountains, to our favorite... our favorite lookout. We called your father and explained to him what was going to happen. He tried to talk us out of it, or at least wait until he got there, but that wasn't what she wanted. I'm not going to tell you the details. That's not something you need to know. But..."
Julie hitched in a breath, and stared up at Colin.
Colin whispered, "Julie. Silje... Silje was deeply religious." He pleaded with her with his eyes to understand, to forgive. "She was terrified of suicide."
It took a moment to understand what Colin was saying. Then it slowly whispered through her. Silje didn't kill herself. Colin helped her.
"My God, Colin..."
"I thought Lester would arrest me. Silje didn't think he would, and she was right. He came up there and sat with me for a long time. Then he called it in, and I carried her down the mountain. Your father and her family have kept it secret all this time. That's where the rumors about me started. That's where people got the idea I'm a monster."
"You're not, you're not, you're so very much not," she whispered, and took him in her arms, kissing him gently. There was no outburst of passion. There was only comfort, and love, and with her fingers stroking his face, she tried to give him as much warmth as she could.
* * *
Both Colin and Lester took the morning shift on Christmas Day so the rest of the deputies could be with their families. In the early afternoon, they came through the door, deep in a conversation and Lester grinning about something.
Julie finished taste-testing her mother's ham -- just a little overcooked, the way they all liked it -- and snatched up Mari from her bouncer. "Daddy's here," she said, and Mari echoed her, "Dada, hi, hi, Dada." Julie kissed her daughter's forehead as Colin came into the kitchen, grinning. He must have ducked home to change. Colin always liked to complain his uniform was too tight, but Julie and most the rest of the female population of Pike Bridge agreed it was deliciously right.
"There are my girls," he said, and swept Mari up before kissing Julie's cheek. Then he knelt lower and kissed her belly. Baby number two was their Thanksgiving surprise news, and they couldn't have been happier to receive it.
"You're blocking the ham," Lester grumbled, and Colin hastily stepped out of the way.
"What was I thinking? Hello to you too, gorgeous," Colin said, eyeing the pineapple glazed ham.
All this, Karen Fisher watched, amused and with so much warmth in her heart. From the moment she saw Colin at the Fall Festival what seemed like a lifetime ago, she knew in her heart he was the one for her daughter. That he was the one for her husband too in his own way was another blessing. He came into their lives like a puzzle piece they didn't know was missing.
Colin walked to her and kissed her cheek. "And merry Christmas to you too, Mom."
"Merry Christmas, Colin."
- COMMENTS
Excellent story of Silje, Colin and Julie.
Too short though. His interactions with Cameron's kids were so sweet.
Wish you wrote more
I'd write a longer review but my heart feels funny and there's something in my eye.
Brilliant. Easily one of the best stories I’ve read on Lit. raw emotion, compelling situations, fully drawn characters. Excellent.
I freaking cried. More than once. This was such a heartbreaking, yet heartwarming and extremely wholesome story. I hate you for breaking my heart but I love you for making me believe in such a profound love.
Brilliant. Outstanding. A wonderful story and great read. Love the characters.
I've been reading Literotica stories for more than 10 years and this is the first time I've commented. Your story is brilliantly imagined and written, full characters with touching stories. Your writing reminds me so much of Norafares and her perfect broken characters and stories. Loved it! Keep writing please.
J
As someone suffering from many mental and physical ailments, I loved this story. Truly beautiful.
The memory (and story influence) of Silje was perfectly written. What a brilliantly realized character; not one word wasted; not one more word needed. Also loved the Sheriff and his wife; your phrasing and word choices made them living, breathing people without the wordy “bio page” often thrown at characters of their import. Sheer brilliance!
So very thrilled you eschewed the “giant-hearted behemoth saves the damsel” trope. You could have easily taken that path - and it would have been understandable - but it would have cheapened your story.
My constructive criticism would be that the ex-husband lacked some of the depth of a real-live person. I think the truth is probably that I felt that Silje was so deep and rich, the ex just didn’t hold up well in comparison. Whatever magic you summoned to bring the Sherrif, his wife, and Silje to life - he needed a bit of it.
Thank you. 5*
You are an amazing talent thank you for the tears I hope for me as I read your stories.
Saw some criticism on one of your other stories (New Man) and even added some myself, although all chapters got at least 4 stars from me, and some five. This story doesn't suffer from any of those flaws. Hands down five stars. Thank you!
That is murder! Colin didn’t save Silje by murdering her! Silje was not dying from some incurable disease. She had mental problems.
That’s just a beautiful story. Ian handled the topic of suicide skillfully and with tact. It’s a hard event to deal with. Well done!
Interesting take on assisted suicide. While I personally disagree with the concept as presented here; I find that the author has written an outstanding and compassionate tale to illustrate his point. 5 stars
A good storyline. It seems almost sacrilege for me, a non author to critique it, but.
I felt the "romance " part was a bit rushed and sketchy. There are far more details about the divorce and suicide that lead to the romance than there is about their developing relationship.
The story of their relationship is kinda like a train journey, but all we are told is about is a couple of the stops at stations along the way, whilst we are given a much more detailed account of the taxi ride from home to the station.
A R W
Congratulations!!
Silje brought back a lot. Silje was very much like my my wife. Although my wife died in her sleep from depression and cancer, I don't believe I could not do what Colin did for Silje. You are to be commended for your way you presented Silje. There was a lot of love in her heart and it was a shame she passed as soon as she did. Colin had a lot of baggage too, and it was nice to know he was healed by Julie with a little help from the "cabal"
I wish you well in future writing endeavors. Keep up the good work
I want to thank everyone for reading and for your comments. It means a lot to me that this story was so well received. If you are or ever do experience thoughts of suicide or face down depression, please consider talking to someone qualified to help you. If you're within the United States, help is available at the Suicide Prevention Hotline - 800-273-8255 - or you can reach out to your doctor or a medical professional. At the very least, it can't hurt to talk to someone about what you're going through. Journeys start with one small step.
Great job, Ian! Excellent setup and very nice job dealing with the major topic of Silje's demise and foreshadowing Colin's part in it, leading me to suspect but never be sure until the reveal. Colin and Julie's getting together, when it happened, seemed a bit fast and somewhat aggressive, but it seemed to be what Julie wanted and in accordance with Colin's nature, so well done. Best wishes in the contest.
Excellent, 5 Stars, and I hope you win the Holiday contest grand prize. A tremendous little read including topics both dark and light, all handled in a mature, realistic, and entertaining way. Your character development was also well done!! Excellent!!!
Excellent. Pleased you raised the issue of suicide in the foreword as a very emotive issue for some. Thought you handled it very well. Only weaknesses were how quickly their relationship developed and the ending was a little disjointed and thought you could have covered more to close remaining strands including selling of Silje's books.
5 stars.
I loved the story 5* without a doubt. The only thing I could have asked for was more. There are areas where I would have like to see the story be expanded this would have been an excellent 10+ page read. I think you handled the issue of the sucide very well it was part of the story and neccessary for the story but at the same time it didn't come off political. I hope to see more stories of the same quality. Thanks for the great read.
Oh. My. God. Well, I guess I needed a good cry? It touches a bit closer than comfortable to my own life, and I also enjoy writing about dark subjects although my stores are less romantic and more twisted. This was... Heartbreaking. But well written. Very well written. 5 stars.
Such a sweet story, it gets dark but the journey was worth it. Would love a sequel but it doesn't need one. Though Colin as a deputy would be a great story. Maybe Brendan comes looking. 5*
I’m a big man, 56 years old, and the bedrock for my family. This has tears rolling down my cheeks though, knew what was coming re: his dead partner but that didn’t detract at all.
Absolutely fabulous piece of story-telling and at the perfect time of year. I’d give you 6 stars if I could.
To those who leave comments, thinking Ian will ever take any of them into account, dream on. This guy is so arrogant, he will never listen to his readers. He a puritan. He might as well not write. Dont ask him to do a sequel, because he never will. He is got some ego problems.
Beautifully written. Such a compelling, well written story. Really enjoyed this. Kudos, well done.
I think the star ratings will speak for how well done this story is. Does it have it's dark points? Yes. Is some of it questionable from a legal stand point? Probably. But as a whole, very well done.
Great story but one little flaw.......unthaw. that literally means to freeze again.
Thaw is to melt
Unthaw is the reverse
5*.....great read . Please keep sharing.
A difficult but very rewarding story. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could. Thank you.
Great story, just a shame peabrains see fit to dump on a piece of work Ian_Snow has worked on and published for FOC access and has then opened that work up to creative criticism, crawl back under your rock anon, you have nothing we want, need or desire to hear. It’s a shame you didn’t listen to your Mother when she said “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”.
Thanks to everyone for the positive and/or constructive criticism. To CyberPunk1, I have some idle thoughts about returning to Pike Bridge in the future, but I don't really know yet what shape that might take. Small town erotic romance appeals to me though, so hopefully someday soon we'll pop in and see what these people get up to.
Re: anonymous remark “apologetic pussy” what a crock of shit! If you are any good, write something better and then have the guts to put your name to it when you are done. Ian, this was a good story with characters a reader could get interested in. The plot was fairly clear from the outset and the results predictable, but it was, nevertheless, a heart warming and uplifting little tale. thank you for sharing it with us.
Good story, well told, with very relatable characters.
Unfortunately, very accurate on how our lives are now fed on rumour and gossip, with scant regard for the truth. Offset by the simple pleasures families can still enjoy by celebrating the holidays together.
Small town life, always a contradiction between pettiness and inclusion.
To anonymous who called this excellent writer an apologetic pussy; exactly how many stories have you published? And how many have dealt so well with a very sensitive topic? Please go back to your village, they're missing their idiot fiercely.
I hope this isn’t the only & last story of these 2. I and I’m sure many other people would love more stories about them. I know I would.
Very interesting story.
Overcritical discusses assisted suicide and how it is legal in some states. What happened in this story would not have been legal in those states. Individuals must be assessed by at least two physicians who are to certify the person is within six months of certain death and are mentally sound. It doesn’t sound like that was the situation here at all. Whatever Colin did would not have been legal and Overcritical did a disservice to the assisted suicide cause by even bringing it up in this context.
My only concerns with this story is how quickly they ended up in the sack and how the ‘big secret’ that had been hinted at throughout the story was quickly swept under the rug. I would have thought she would need some time to come to grips with the news but she just accepted the news with no hesitation. A little too simple of a resolution for my tastes.
When it comes to competition writing I just read and vote. If I like the story I go look for the author. I should have figured you were the author. Great work
Nice concept and well crafted story. The stories of Julie and Colin are woven together seamlessly. Very enjoyable read.