Charming Memory

by E L Bossert

  “But I really need to see what I can remember about my life. The doctor said I have to remember as much as I can as quickly as possible, otherwise the memories might be lost forever.”

  “Okay, you’ll come with me tomorrow, but then you are coming back here to Jamie, and Max, and everyone else, if I have to tie you up and bring you myself.”

  Boo laughed as she did not doubt for an instant María would make good on her threat.

  JAMIE AND MAX FINISHED their shopping and dropped by Lessa and Philip’s house to retrieve Max’s bag, which had been forgotten in the morning’s excitement.

  “How are you, honey?” Lessa read the mixed feelings on Jamie’s face.

  “I’m fine. I...” Jamie could not think how to finish the sentence.

  “This does not mean you are losing Boo. We have to support her through this. She needs to find her identity to move on in her life. I know that doesn’t feel comforting right now, but it will all work out.”

  “What if she goes back and realizes she doesn’t want to be in our lives? Maybe she will be happy to settle back into the way things were for her.”

  “Honey, this is really hard. She has needed you. Now you two need to transition to wanting to be together. I know you love her and it’s scary,” Lessa would declare Jamie’s love for Boo even if Jamie did not have the courage to, yet. “This has to happen for you both to move forward. You couldn’t do that until now.”

  “You’re right. I need to be brave. I need to let her go. More than that, I need to support her going.” The thought of Boo leaving brought the sting of tears to Jamie’s eyes. She wanted to have as much faith in love as her mother did.

  When Jamie and Max arrived home, Boo and María had lunch waiting for them. Jamie felt a twinge of jealousy watching how Boo and María interacted with each other. It was a familiarity she hoped she would one day enjoy with Boo.

  In the afternoon, Boo and Max took María for a walk in the woods. Boo identified several rare plants, while María showed Max different animal tracks, caught two species of frogs, and spotted a couple of skink lizards scurrying around on a downed tree log. Max was quite enamoured with his newest friend.

  As María and Max cleaned up from their adventure, Boo found Jamie sitting on the patio.

  “Mind if I join you? I feel like I haven’t seen much of you today.” Boo sat on the chair next to Jamie.

  “It has been a whirlwind. How are you feeling?”

  “More and more memories are coming back to me. María says things and suddenly I remember. It’s exciting and exhausting. I finally feel like I’m getting my life back.”

  “Have you given any thought to what comes next?” Jamie was doing her best to sound supportive despite her fears.

  “I will drive back with María tomorrow. Apparently I have two jobs I was supposed to be finishing these past three weeks. I need to figure out what’s going on and if there is some way I can still do the work.” Seeing through Jamie’s attempt at a brave face, Boo added, “I will be back. Soon. I promise.”

  María’s words about Boo always keeping her promises reverberated through Jamie’s mind. Jamie needed to believe those words right now.

  “How can I help? What do you need?” Jamie wanted to offer money, a private jet, or to go with her, but Boo was too independent to accept any of those.

  “I can’t think of anything. I’ll need a new driver’s license and credit cards, that kind of stuff. Then I’ll figure out how to pay you back for everything—all the money you’ve spent on clothes and taking care of me. Good news is María says I’m still on her health insurance until we file the final divorce papers. And I’ve signed up for a new plan. I just have to find the information for the hospital.” A multitude of details whirled through Boo’s mind.

  A lot was left unspoken between Boo and Jamie as they silently contemplated the coming days, but now did not seem to be the time to start a new conversation.

  Max broke the silence by running through the doorway and jumping on his mother.

  “I’m hungry.”

  “Again? I guess we better find some supper.” Jamie snuggled Max for a moment. She looked over the top of Max’s head at Boo, who was watching them intently. Jamie hoped this was enough to bring Boo back.

  Supper was a subdued meal. Most of the obvious questions had been asked and many of the obvious stories had been told. Their separation weighed heavily on both Jamie and Boo as Max entertained María with stories about the children’s museum. Toward the end of the meal, Boo explained to Max why she was leaving and promised to return soon.

  “No. I want to come with you,” Max whined.

  Boo lifted Max out of his chair, taking him outside for a private talk.

  “See the sun over there? Whenever the sun is up, I want you to think, Boo sees the same sun too. And when you see the moon come up, I want you to think, Boo sees the same moon too. I have to go and I will miss you. And because I will miss you so much, I will have to come back very soon.”

  “I’ll miss you. When will you be back?” Max put his arms around Boo’s neck and rested his head against hers.

  “We will talk once a day, for fifteen minutes, and soon I’ll be here again. While I’m gone, I need for you to spend time with your mom and Fred and your grandparents, and everyone you love. That will make the time go by quicker. Okay?”

  “Okay. Can we have ice cream now?” Max’s mood brightened.

  Boo took Max back in the house, heading directly to the freezer. She looked across the room at Jamie, who had tears in her eyes, and decided she would need to have a similar talk with Jamie later.

  The evening included phone calls to update Isabella, Gabriela, and Chief. At Max’s bedtime, Jamie read him the first story, Boo another, and then he requested a story from María.

  “I need the practice for when Isabella and I have kids.”

  After storytime, María excused herself to Boo’s bedroom to retire for the night. Boo followed her. Out of Jamie’s hearing, María eyed Boo intensely.

  “If you crawl in bed with me tonight or sleep on that patio, you better have a damn good excuse about why you are not in bed with the woman you love and who loves you back.”

  “How can I do that then leave in the morning? I don’t want to hurt Jamie.”

  “You’ll figure it out. Now get out of here. I want to sleep,” María playfully pushed Boo out of the room and shut the door.

  Boo walked through the kitchen to the patio. The sun had set on a peaceful June evening. Jamie soon wandered outside to sit beside her.

  “Do I need to give you the same talk I gave Max?” Boo smiled gently at Jamie.

  “Maybe. I’ll miss you terribly.”

  “I’ll miss you, too. But we will talk, at least once, probably a lot more, every day. And I know you have work to do and lots of family time.”

  “You really don’t need to give me a pep talk, but I appreciate it.” Jamie studied Boo’s face in the glow of the kitchen light. “Your wife seems to think you should be cheating on her while you still have the chance.”

  “Yea, she actually shoved me out of the bedroom.” Boo paused. “Jamie, I don’t want to start something and then leave in the morning. I want to start something when...when I can be here, after I have found all of me. I want to share all that with you.”

  “In a way, isn’t that what we have been doing? We both just forgot everything else for a while and were our real selves with each other?”

  “And now we need to bring all the other stuff back in. We are whole people. Some of it is messy, and some is busy and chaotic, and that’s what will make the choice to be together feel right. Not like we are forgetting everything else, but we see it all and choose each other.”

  A sprinkle of rain fell on the two women as lightening lit the sky above the clouds in the distance.

  “Come on, you can’t sleep outside tonight unless you want me to throw a tarp over you.” Jamie was only half teasing. Knowing Boo, there was a good chance sh
e would stay outside in the rain to avoid temptation. But temptation was exactly what Jamie had in mind.

  Taking Boo’s hand, Jamie pulled her off the chair and led her into the house. Jamie locked the door behind them. Keeping a hold on Boo’s hand, Jamie walked them into her bedroom. She locked that door, too, in case Max woke up during the night and decided to pay a visit to his mother’s room.

  The only light illuminating the room came from a nightlight in the adjoining bathroom. It barely broke the darkness. Jamie moved to face Boo, hands intertwined, their bodies a mere inch apart.

  “Your wife told me I should seduce you. Well, not in so many words...” Jamie felt the increasing warmth of Boo’s body seep into her skin.

  “Usually that would be a real mood killer, but in this case...” Boo replied, smiling at María’s meddling.

  “I want to kiss you now, Boo Charming.” Jamie shifted slightly to close the gap between them, pressing her body against the full length of Boo’s, her lips a breath from Boo’s. “Is that okay?”

  “Yes.” Boo’s resolve was totally vanquished by the radiant heat of Jamie’s body.

  Jamie pulled Boo’s head down slightly until their lips met. The sensation was softer than any she had imagined or dreamed. As their lips parted slightly, the space became a vacuum, sucking them back into each other. Tongues met in an unforgettable taste of the sweetness of aroused breath. Each inhaled the heated scent of the other.

  “I’m taking off my shirt and then I want to take off your shirt. I want to feel your skin.” Jamie pulled her head back slightly, “Is that okay?”

  “Yes,” seemed to be the only word in Boo’s vocabulary.

  Jamie slowly lifted her own shirt over her head and threw it to the side. As she lifted Boo’s shirt, it caught on Boo’s nose. Both grinned at the clumsiness of the first time.

  Jamie pulled Boo back to her body, wrapping her arms around Boo’s waist. Jamie could feel Boo’s small breasts pressed to her chest just above her own nipples. She lightly rubbed her hands over Boo’s side and back. Boo gently held the back of Jamie’s head in one hand and shoulders with the other, pulling Jamie into a long kiss.

  Rain falling on the roof sounded a steady drumbeat. Thunder rose from the distance as a flash of light illuminated the window.

  “I’m taking off my shorts now. Then I want to remove yours. May I?” Jamie wanted to make sure this was what Boo wanted as much as she did.

  “How about I remove my own shorts, and then yours? Is that okay?” Boo countered, not seeking control, but parity in the interaction.

  “Mmmm, yes.” It was Jamie’s turn to consent.

  Boo stepped back far enough to pull her shorts and boxers off, tossing them aside. She reached for Jamie’s shorts. The sharp click that signaled the unsnapping of the top of Jamie’s shorts was gratifying, but the zipper pull stuck halfway down. They both giggled.

  “We make this look so easy in the movies.” A stuck zipper could ruin an entire take when filming a love scene, however, this was one love scene Jamie would not mind doing over and over again, with or without a clothing malfunction.

  Jamie jiggled the zipper loose, sliding it down. She allowed her shorts to fall around her ankles and kicked them off. Boo slid her hands over Jamie’s underwear and then under the sides until she could work them down Jamie’s legs. These were tossed aside also.

  Now naked, their bodies met and lips came together again.

  “What now?” Boo breathed into Jamie’s ear as her body shivered in anticipation.

  “I want to lay you down on the bed. Then I want to lay on top of you and kiss you, all over.” Jamie moaned involuntarily as she played the scene in her mind. “Is that what you want too?”

  Boo could barely mouth the word, yes, between her rapid breaths.

  Keeping their bodies connected, Jamie moved Boo across the room until she could safely push her back onto the bed. Boo slid herself across the sheets until only her feet dangled off the edge. Jamie carefully climbed onto the bed and lowered herself on top of Boo’s body. Placing one thigh between Boo’s legs to spread them, Jamie dipped her head to start kissing at Boo’s navel, working her way slowly up the center line of Boo’s chest. When she reached Boo’s neck, Jamie lifted her head to kiss Boo’s lips as she rested the full weight of her body on Boo.

  Boo wrapped her arms around Jamie, holding her tightly as their tongues did a hungry tango. Jamie’s hands worked their way down Boo’s sides as far as she could reach, then back up.

  “I want to suck on your nipples. May I?” Jamie whispered against Boo’s heart.

  “Yes.” There was nothing Boo wanted more at this moment.

  Jamie shifted her body to one side, allowing a hand to roam freely across Boo’s stomach, feeling the smooth softness of skin over taught abs. Jamie kissed and sucked on one of Boo’s hard nipples, tasting Boo’s skin as she rolled the nipple between her tongue and teeth while her fingers applied a similar pressure to the other nipple. Then Jamie switched sides, wanting to bathe each nipple in her mouth.

  Boo moaned with pleasure as her body trembled with expectation.

  “I want to touch you, make love to you.” Jamie’s intention was clear, but she clarified anyway. “Now. Is that what you want?”

  “Yes, please,” Boo gladly begged for Jamie’s touch.

  Jamie moved her hand between Boo’s legs. It took no time find the source of Boo’s wetness.

  “May I touch you here?” Jamie waited for Boo’s reply.

  “Yes.” Boo’s breathing was hard and fast.

  Jamie was momentarily torn between taking her time and granting both of their desire as soon as possible. She intensified her stroking, guided by Boo’s response.

  Boo struggled to remember to be as quiet as possible as any sense of time and place left her. She felt Jamie’s touch and allowed herself be carried along by the rhythm of Jamie’s fingers. Boo’s body pressed into Jamie’s hand as she arched blissfully into the intense contractions of her orgasm.

  Boo recovered quickly, using her strong body to gently rolling Jamie over onto her back. Boo’s thighs slid between Jamie’s and her muscled arms supported her as she hovered just above Jamie.

  “Your turn,” Boo hummed into Jamie’s ear. She traced one of Jamie’s nipples with her fingers. “I want to suck on your nipples. May I?”

  “No.”

  Boo immediately withdrew her hand, but Jamie caught it, lowering Boo’s hand between her open legs.

  “I want you to touch me here. Now. Please?” Jamie’s urgency needed no further explanation.

  Making love was one skill Boo had definitely not forgotten.

  Jamie pulled Boo’s mouth over hers to muffle the moans as Boo’s fingers slid inside her. Jamie felt every nerve ending tingle as Boo’s thumb caressed her swollen clit, almost immediately taking her body into rolling waves of release.

  As their breathing slowed, their lips remained together, tongues dancing. This was not a dream or fantasy. The feeling of coming together on what could be their last night, or their new beginning, was real.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  THE NEW DAWN FOUND Boo and Jamie still tangled in each other’s arms, their legs entwined.

  The light peeked in through the blinds as Boo stirred first. She lay quietly, luxuriating in the memory of each orgasm of the previous night. Reliving each of Jamie’s sweet kisses was cut short as she remembered she needed to be up and ready to leave with María on their long drive.

  Jamie’s head rested on Boo’s shoulder. Boo lightly caressed the side of Jamie’s face, gently guiding it up toward hers. She kissed Jamie softly on the forehead, then her nose, and finally her lips.

  Jamie moaned as her body twitched awake, caught between an erotic dream and immediate lustful urges. Her body buzzed with aroused nerves. Stretching to seek out the rest of Boo’s body, Jamie breathed in the scent of sex still in the air from the previous night’s activity.

  “Mmmmm, I like waking up this way,” Jamie pu
lled Boo closer.

  “Mmmmm, me too. I’d like to...but we need to get out of bed, make some breakfast for Max and María.” Boo sighed, kissing Jamie’s delicious lips one final time.

  Jamie and Boo reluctantly crawled from the bed, searching for clothes scattered about the room. Jamie washed her face and wanted to suggest a joint shower, but that would seriously delay their appearance in the kitchen. Max would be starved by the time they finished.

  Boo and Jamie held hands as they walked into the kitchen. They were surprised to find Max and María there, quietly cooking breakfast. Neither Boo nor Jamie could contain a blush.

  “Look what the cat dragged in,” María gave the two a self-satisfied smile as she flipped an omelet in the pan.

  “Look, Boo, María and I are making you and mom breakfast,” Max stated with pride.

  “Thank you, buddy. This looks great. I’m famished.” Boo had worked up an appetite overnight.

  “Thank you, mijo. This is very thoughtful. How long have you two been up?” Jamie was curious how María managed to keep Max quiet. Usually a mother’s ears picked up on the sounds of a stirring child anywhere in the house.

  “We wanted to surprise you!” Max was pleased the plan had worked.

  “Did the thunder and lightning keep you two kids up late last night? You look a little sleep deprived.” María was clearly enjoying teasing the new lovers.

  “Nope, slept just great.” Boo shook her head at María, not bothering to contain a guilty grin.

  “I thought we would eat, then pack and head out. Jamie, I hope you don’t mind if we leave early?” María, concerned about Jamie’s feelings, wanted to include both Jamie and Max as part of the planned departure.

  “Sooner you get on the road, the sooner you’ll be back home with Isabella, and Roxie and Zoe.” Jamie engaged in her best acting in a long time given that her entire being wanted to hold onto Boo and not allow her to depart.