Falling in Love...Again

by AnonYMous

  My sensible self told me it was just a little case of temporary lust and loneliness. My heart told me that in just a couple of days, Drew had reminded me of what it felt like to be a woman and to be cherished by a man. I was hungry for more.

  Sunday afternoon stretched long and lonely before me. As Drew drove me home, I wished I could think of something that the two of us could do together. I didn’t want him to go home.

  “Would you like to come in for lunch?” I asked.

  “I, uh, have something I need to do,” he declined politely. “Another time, though.”

  I tried to busy myself with chores, but at every turn, I was thinking about Drew and how sweet he’d been to me.

  When I’d dropped Heidi off at her father’s apartment on Friday night, Jerry had waved to me from the door. When he brought her back, he came right up to the door with her.

  “I’ve asked Linda to marry me,” he said simply. “You and I need to finalize our divorce. You can have the house and everything in it. I’ll pay child support, of course.”

  He stood poised and ready for an argument. I didn’t give him one. I have to admit I wasn’t even thinking about him. I was thinking that now I’d be free, and maybe if Drew were interested, we could start spending more time together.

  “Did you hear what I just said, Cora?”

  “Yes.” I finally took a good look at him. “I’ll call my lawyer tomorrow.”

  “What lawyer?”

  “The one I hired more than a month ago, Jerry. I’ll take care of it.”

  He shrugged, then turned and walked toward his car. His jeans didn’t fit him properly, and he wasn’t as muscular and fit as Drew. I shook my head. What was I doing comparing my husband to a man I barely knew?

  Inside the house, Heidi proceeded to call me names, while informing me that she wasn’t going to go to bed at her usual bedtime. She then threw a tantrum that I was sure the neighbors could hear. I sat down on her bedroom floor and watched her as she did everything in her power to make me angry. I waited, my heart aching for my child.

  “You are a bad mom!” she screamed at last. “You are a terrible, horrible, bad mom.”

  I could feel the tears streaming from my eyes. Suddenly, Heidi stopped, rushed to me, and threw her arms around me.

  “I don’t want a new mom,” she sobbed. “Linda says she’s going to marry my daddy and be my new mom.”

  By now, I wanted to kill Linda with my bare hands. I held my daughter and explained to her that I would always be her mother and Jerry would always be her father. We would always love her, but we couldn’t live together anymore.

  “Are you going to get me a new daddy?” she asked.

  “If I meet someone nice and I want to be with him forever, I will get married again, but that person will be your friend, not your daddy,” I explained.

  “I like friends,” she said thoughtfully. “I’ll go to bed now.”

  I didn’t see Drew for a few days. When he showed up at the library, he told me he’d read the books I’d recommended.

  “I learned that I have to let go of my bitterness and my anger,” he told me. “I’m working on that. I also need to move on with my own life the way you are.”

  “That’s a start,” I said cheerfully. He was wearing navy blue slacks and a soft knit shirt. I could tell that all of the librarians were subtly checking him out. I could feel myself blushing.

  “Would you like to go out on Friday night, Cora?”

  “I would,” I said in a dreamy voice, “but I can’t because I have Heidi this weekend.” I didn’t want to hurt Drew further by telling him that Jerry and Linda were planning to be married. I just told him that Heidi really needed me.

  “I always wished that Linda had wanted a family. That’s my greatest regret. Maybe you and Heidi would like to go to the movies. I wouldn’t intrude on the two of you. I could just sort of tag along and pretend I had a nice little family like yours.”

  How could I resist? When I told Heidi that Drew wanted to take us both to the movies, she was thrilled.

  Drew picked the movie and the time. He even brought Heidi a little toy that he solemnly presented her with beforehand. He brought me a beautiful long-stemmed white rose.

  The rest of the evening was even more romantic. Drew didn’t touch me or kiss me or try anything physical. He listened to me, and just as intently to Heidi. When I saw him treating my daughter with so much respect, I was so touched.

  “That was so much fun! I hope we do it again,” Heidi declared.

  “Maybe we will,” I murmured, but Drew hadn’t said anything about a future date.

  Although Drew never committed very far in advance, he seemed to show up at just the right times. On the day my divorce became final, he came to the library and gave me a book of poems and prayers.

  “I found some comfort in these,” he said simply. “I thought you would, too. I know how rough it is.”

  Heidi had an accident at school and broke her arm. Drew showed up on our doorstep the next day, carrying a huge teddy bear with its arm in a cast. My mouth dropped open, and I just stood there staring in wonder as Drew handed Heidi the wounded bear.

  “How did you ever find such a terrific toy?” I asked, smiling.

  “Well, I have a doctor friend who agreed to help me with the project. It’s no big deal.”

  Jerry didn’t even send his daughter a card. Lately, he’d been canceling his weekends with Heidi as well.

  When my car broke down, I called Drew, who came right over and fixed it. When I asked him how much I owed him, he claimed I owed him dinner and an evening out.

  I agreed. We had no idea that while we were eating dinner at a nice restaurant that Jerry and Linda were getting married. Heidi told me all about it when she came home on Sunday night.

  I barely heard the details about how the happy couple had exchanged gold wedding bands and the only witnesses were an old lady and the justice of the peace. I was too busy thinking about how Drew had lured me onto the dance floor and held me in his arms.

  “I don’t dance,” I insisted. “I mean, I never really learned, and I don’t slow dance well—”

  He stood up, took my hand, and pulled me to my feet. “You can learn. I want to dance with you.”

  I didn’t even feel my feet. I only felt my heart beating rapidly. I felt cherished and valuable and special. I know I glowed for days afterwards. My fellow librarians kept commenting on how different I looked. I was falling in love.

  “Cora.” Drew approached me at the end of a very long day. “I’ve run out of self-help books, and I’m looking for something a little lighter.”

  “What did you have in mind?” I asked.

  “How about a romance novel?”

  “Are you serious?” I laughed.

  “Sure. It’s been so long since I had any romance, I figure I need to brush up on my skills.”

  I led him to the section of novels and picked out two books I thought he might like. “This one is my favorite,” I explained. “I’ve read it several times.”

  “Then I’m going to love it.” He smiled. “I want to know more about you.”

  “Why is that?” I asked, holding my breath.

  “Cora, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  I looked up into his blue eyes. “Drew, I think I am falling in love with you, too. It scares me because it seems like it’s too soon.”

  “I know, I know. But we’ve got all the time in the world.” Then he told me that he’d really like it if Heidi and I would come to church with him on Sunday. We’d met up there a few times and always sat together, but this was the first time that he’d actually asked me to go with him.

  I agreed, and on Sunday morning, we rode in his truck to church. Heidi looked so pretty in her pink dress. I hoped I looked nice in a beige suit that I’d gotten on sale just the week before. Drew was wearing a deep blue pinstriped suit. He looked magnificent, and I could hardly keep my hands off of him.

  During the
service, Drew reached over and took my hand. For the first time in my adult life, I felt like I was exactly where God wanted me to be. I nearly cried with joy because even though I’d lost a lot, I’d found my faith again, and that was more precious to me than anything.

  After the service, Drew asked Heidi and me to wait for him. He disappeared into the crowd. A couple of Heidi’s friends were there, so she talked to them until their parents called to them to leave. We stood uncomfortably just outside the church, wondering what Drew was doing.

  When he finally came out, he was grinning. He took my hand and Heidi’s and guided us back into the church. We walked all the way down the center aisle together.

  I couldn’t imagine what he wanted us to do. I thought maybe he wanted us to say our prayers together or something. The minister was standing in front of the church when we got there. He and his wife were both grinning.

  “I wanted to do this in front of God, and to include Heidi,” Drew said softly. “I wanted witnesses so you’d know I was serious.” He suddenly got down on one knee. “Cora, will you marry me?”

  “Say yes,” Heidi prompted. “He’s the best dad!”

  I said yes.

  Drew produced a diamond ring from his pocket and slid it on my finger. “In three months, I promise to marry you in this very spot—unless you think three months is too soon.”

  In three months, I would have been divorced for a year, and I was ready to take that leap with the man who had treated me with so much kindness. I wanted to be his wife.

  I snuggled close to Drew on the way home. I never wanted this precious moment to end. Heidi was talking about the wedding. She told Drew that she wanted a long dress to wear to the wedding, too.

  “Oh, honey, if you aren’t in a long dress and carrying a pretty little bouquet, it just won’t be a wedding at all. I’m counting on you to help the preacher officiate and bind us together as a real family.”

  We’d made our promises to be married, and after Heidi was asleep that night, I gave in to the longings I’d had for so many months. I knew I wanted to wake up the next morning in his arms.

  Without even thinking about it, I stood up and reached for his hand. I led him up the stairs to my bedroom. I closed and locked the door. He sat awkwardly on the bed, but he didn’t say anything.

  Slowly, so slowly, I began to unbutton my blouse. I threw it to the floor. Then I undid my bra and tossed it aside as well. I slipped out of my jeans and my panties, and I stood in front of the man who had promised to be my husband.

  “I just want to look at you,” he said in a husky voice. “I just want to take it all in.”

  I didn’t feel ashamed in any way, even though I don’t have the greatest figure. I could feel his eyes on me as if he were memorizing every part of my body.

  He held out his hand, and I went to him. He kissed me all over. Never before had a man kissed the bottom of my feet, but he did, and I nearly fainted with pleasure. He was determined to explore every inch of my body.

  Finally, he took off his own clothes, but he didn’t just launch himself on top of me the way Jerry had. He lay down beside me and started kissing me all over again. I was mad with desire and need.

  When I could take it no longer, I pushed him onto his back. Then I took him, feeling his need deep inside me and enjoying the first few moments of being one with this wonderful man.

  Our lovemaking was like slow dancing. I let him lead the way, setting the pace with a light touch or a deep kiss. I felt the rhythm of the man beneath me, and I wanted more and more of him. When I finally fell on top of him, spent and panting, I knew that I was finally at home. I was at peace with myself and my body.

  Jerry had always hurriedly gotten up or wanted to adjust the covers or make some note of how he rated sex with me. Drew simply lay there, his eyes closed and a little smile playing on his face.

  “I love you,” he said softly. “I loved you before, but I love you more now because we are a perfect fit.”

  His words were simple, but on so many levels, he’d spoken a profound truth. I wondered if I could wait the three months to marry him.

  Drew spent most nights with me. I loved waking up with him in the morning. I loved the way he sang in the shower and the way he just seem to fit into our established routines.

  “Will you drive me to school,” Heidi asked one morning, “and stay for show and tell?”

  “Sure, honey,” he agreed. “Just let me call my boss and tell him I’ll be a little late. What are you showing today?”

  “You—my new dad!” She giggled.

  The three of us went shopping together to buy my wedding dress, a new suit for Drew, and a beautiful satin and lace dress for Heidi.

  “I’m going to feel like a princess!” she exclaimed.

  “You certainly look like one,” he told her. “I’m going to go crazy when some boy comes to the house and wants to marry you. I don’t know if I can give you up.”

  “But you have Mom.” She laughed.

  “That’s right—and she’s more than enough woman for me.”

  Heidi didn’t have any idea what we were talking about, but I blushed.

  A week before the wedding, we were happily preparing dinner when the doorbell rang. I went to open it. A teary Linda stood on the front step. She didn’t even acknowledge me; she barged in and headed straight for Drew.

  “I want you back,” she declared. “Jerry is nothing but a spoiled, selfish pig.”

  I quickly sent Heidi upstairs. I was going to leave the room myself, but Drew stopped me.

  “I think you need to stay, Cora. I want you to hear what I have to say to my former wife.”

  “I want you back!” she cried. “I know I was wrong to divorce you. I can be divorced in six weeks, and you and I can be together forever.” She moved toward Drew and tried to throw her arms around his neck.

  Drew pushed her aside. I expected him to be angry, but he wasn’t.

  He just said softly, “I feel sorry for you, Linda. We made promises to each other that you couldn’t keep. Those vows didn’t mean that you could love, honor, and cherish until you got tired of me. We were a family and you chose to leave me.”

  “But I said I was wrong,” she pouted. “I know you’ll forgive me. Remember how good it used to be between the two of us?”

  “No.” He shrugged. “I remember how you used to manipulate me and insist on having your own way. I’m sorry you got hurt, but maybe with some counseling, you and Jerry can work things out.”

  She was getting nowhere with Drew, so she decided to turn on me. “You!” she hissed as she pointed her finger at me. “You ruined everything! We were perfectly happy with things the way they were—until you decided Jerry wasn’t good enough for you anymore.”

  I could tell that she was drunk and out of her mind. She’d let herself go, too. Her skin was dull, her eyes no longer seemed full of life, and her ill-fitting clothes made me think that perhaps she was living on a steady diet of alcohol and self-pity.

  “That’s enough,” Drew said as he guided her toward the door. “You’ve had your say. Now I think I need to have mine.”

  I waited for him to tell her off, to remind her how she’d hurt him. “Goodbye, Linda,” he said simply. “I’ll pray for you, and I hope it all works out.”

  We weren’t surprised that Jerry called me the day before the wedding. “I really messed things up. Linda and I had nothing in common. I miss you, and I miss Heidi.”

  I said softly, “Goodbye, Jerry. I’ll say some prayers for you and hope that it works out.”

  The next day, I walked down the aisle with my daughter toward Drew. “Isn’t it wonderful?” Heidi asked when we were halfway down the aisle.

  “Yes, it is, honey.” I just couldn’t stop smiling.

  Friends of mine were dabbing at their eyes, and we hadn’t even gotten to the good part yet!

  Heidi, forgetting what we’d done the night before at the rehearsal, rushed up to Drew and took his hand. She stood on
one side of him, and I stood on the other for most of the ceremony. Nobody chastised her or reminded her where she was supposed to stand. We were in the process of becoming a family, and she needed to be right there with us.

  When my new husband took me into his arms and kissed me, the guests broke into applause and even a few whistles. Then we both kissed Heidi.

  We were dancing at the reception, when a drunken and staggering Linda burst through the doors to the reception hall.

  She screamed, “You filthy, lying, bitch! I turned my back for one minute, and you helped yourself to my husband!”

  Heidi’s lip began to quiver, and I could tell that she was very near tears. Linda lurched forward toward me. I stood my ground. She reached out as if she were going to strike me. I grabbed her arm and spun her around so her arm was twisted up behind her.

  “You do not have the right to come barging in here with your ridiculous accusations. You left Drew. Jerry left me. We have found each other. That is the end of the story.”

  “But Jerry isn’t what I thought he was,” she blubbered as I pushed her toward the door. “Drew never treated me badly.”

  “Jerry is treating you badly?” I continued to guide her to the back of the reception hall. The onlookers, including my husband, were so stunned that nobody moved forward.

  “He wants me to clean up after him, and he never wants to go anywhere. He’s always on that damned computer of his or at work.”

  “Thank you, Linda.” I gave her one final push through the door. “You’ve just given me the loveliest wedding present of all.”

  “What’s that?” she slurred.

  “The knowledge that the two of you have finally found the exact person you deserve.” I closed the door before she could respond.

  I turned around, and there stood my husband with his glass raised in a toast.

  “To my bride, a woman who told me if I worked on improving my life and read enough self-help books, I’d find true love. Thank God she was right.”

  I laughed, thinking about what I’d just told Linda. I’ll never regret helping myself to my neighbor’s husband. THE END

  This Gutsy, Go-Getter Won’t Be Any Man’s Fool!