Title: TQL: The Wonderful World of Leaves
Author: Susan  
E-mail: touchstone98@tx.rr.com
Classification: 15th in an occasional series
Archive: No archive without permission.  
Disclaimer: These characters belong to each other,  
not me.  

You can read the entire This Quiet Life series here: 
http://possibilities.bravehost.com/ThisQuietLife.html  
  
Summary: October is here, and with it, comes
the leaves.
*********************************************************  

The Wonderful World of Leaves
by Susan
~~~~

October is here, and with it, comes the leaves.

Bright orange maple leaves, deep red oak, yellow
and scarlet sassafras.

As a boy, it was his favorite time of the year.

Watching the trees change from a dull green to a 
beautiful tapestry of colors in a matter of weeks,
then getting the chance to rake them into a pile 
and jump on top of them was one of the few chores 
around the house he didn't mind doing.

Of course, he also had to bag them all up when he 
was done, but being able to run and jump on the 
pile and scatter the leaves everywhere as well as 
bury himself underneath them was worth it.

Now living where they do, with all the property
they have, he has more leaves than he can deal 
with.

Still, it's his favorite time of the year.

In the mornings and afternoons, he spends his time 
riding around on the riding lawn mower Scully bought 
for him, sucking up the leaves and dumping them in 
the compost pile he started out in the backyard.

And in the evenings, he rests, sitting on the porch 
with the woman he loves and enjoying the brilliant 
colors from his rocking chair.

It's such a simple thing, the changing of the leaves, 
and yet he enjoys it even more now than he did when 
he was a kid.

And he enjoys sharing it with his wife.

"Did you know that when sassafras leaves are crushed, 
they give off a spicy scent?" he asks, bending over 
to pick up the stray sassafras leaf that just blew 
onto the porch.

"Yes, they're commonly used for making tea as well 
as for making soap."

He runs his finger along the edge of the partially
torn flame-colored leaf. "That's pretty good, Scully. 
And did you also know that the bark, twigs and roots 
were once prized by the Indians and early colonists 
for medicinal purposes?"

She smiles at the man beside her, the man whose 
ability to recite random facts about any subject 
at any time never fails to amaze her.

"I'm impressed, Mulder," she says, carefully taking 
the delicate leaf from him and examining its tiny 
veins. "So, what else can you tell me about the 
wondrous life of the sassafras leaf?"

He loves it when she challenges him, when she wants 
to know more.

And so he tells her more.

"Along with being used as a spring tonic, doctors 
sometimes wore nose beaks of sassafras to ward off 
the bubonic plague."

"That's interesting," she remarks even though she
vaguely remembers reading something about it in a
medical journal a long time ago.

"It is, and so is the fact that sassafras oil has
been used to flavor various candies, perfume, and
even root beer."

"Ooo...tell me more," she says, taking the tip of
the leaf and lightly brushing it across his cheek.

He loves it when she's playful like this, when she's 
mischievous and flirty.

And so he plays along too.

He leans over, nuzzles her neck, kisses her cheek.
"Well, supposedly back in the 1600's, sassafras was 
so highly prized that England demanded sassafras 
oil from Virginia as a condition of charter."

"I never knew that leaves could be so useful and 
so...stimulating," she murmurs, the sassafras leaf
tumbling from her lap as she cups her hand behind 
his neck, pulls him closer. 

He kisses her again then, this time on the lips, 
and says, "Oh yeah, they're very useful, as food, 
as medicine, as dyes for fabric. Hey Scully, did 
you know that silkworms will only eat mulberry 
leaves?" 

She presses her finger to his mouth and smiles.
"And did you know that sometimes it's better to
quit while you're ahead?"

Taking hold of her hand, he softly kisses her palm
and smiles back.  "Yes, it is," he says, still 
holding onto her hand as he stands up from his 
chair, then helps her up from hers. 

"You ready to go inside?" he asks, casually popping 
open the top button on her blouse and brushing his
fingers over her skin.

He loves seducing her this way, with simple words, 
with gentle touches.

And she loves it too.

Bending down and picking up the fallen sassafras 
leaf again, she traces another path on his face,
this time around his ear, then along the curve of 
his jaw line.

"I thought you'd never ask," she replies, her eyes 
shining as she squeezes his hand and leads him into 
the house.


~end~

possibilities
http://possibilities.bravehost.com/


Originally posted October 2004.