A Chapter on Love

by Laney Webber

  “Did you ever camp in one of these?” Lee grabbed the side of the lean-to, hoisted herself up on the platform, and held out a hand, pulling Jannika up.

  “No, after my last summer at camp, I went to college, then moved near Portland. I visit my mormor, my grandma, in New Sweden and sometimes see my mom in Stillmeadow up in Maine, but not camping. It always reminded me of you.”

  Lee wrapped her arms around Jannika and whispered in her ear, “And that was a bad thing?”

  “A very bad thing, I’m afraid.” She tipped her head to the side and offered her neck to Lee’s warm lips. “When I was in the woods, I’d think of you. Hell, even when I wasn’t in the woods, I’d think of you.” Her last few words caught in her throat as Lee drew her closer, her tongue circling the small hollow behind Jannika’s ear.

  “I thought of you more than a few times over the years,” Lee whispered, “and you taste incredible.” Lee’s hands slid down to the small of Jannika’s back and she pulled her closer. Jannika wrapped her arms around Lee and looked into her eyes. She touched Lee’s temple.

  “Your eyes haven’t changed at all. When I look into your eyes, it’s like I’m here with you now and I’m with your younger self too.” She took off her mittens behind Lee’s back and stuffed them into Lee’s coat pockets. She leaned into Lee’s embrace.

  “Your eyes are the same too,” Lee said, “but I see a strength in them and in you that you hadn’t developed yet back then.” Lee took a step back from their embrace and held Jannika’s hands in hers. “I really like when you show me that sassy side of you.” She smiled. “It’s nice to know it’s still there. I’m so happy we met again. I probably shouldn’t share this, but I have this little war going on inside of me.”

  “Tell me?”

  “When we’re apart I think about getting to know you better and wanting to learn about all those years since camp till now. I want to see where this is going. And I don’t want to scare you away by saying things—like, I want you to meet my family and my friends from Maine. But I also have these other thoughts.” Lee stepped closer to her again and slid her hand under the back of Jannika’s jacket.

  “Other thoughts?” Jannika leaned her hips forward. She didn’t want to admit it to herself, but she did want to meet Lee’s family, and she wanted Lee to meet Aunt Gunnie and Marcy. She didn’t know she could feel this scared and excited at the same time. She wasn’t sure if she liked it, so she tried to focus on her body’s insistence to being closer to Lee.

  “Yes.” Lee laughed. “You know what thoughts I’m talking about. But I really want to know what you’re thinking, about our meeting again, our dates.” Lee moved her face closer to hers.

  “Not with you this close to me.” Her breath quickened. She was very aware of Lee’s lips. She backed away just as Lee took a step back. She took her mittens out of Lee’s jacket and worked them with her hands as she spoke.

  “I can’t believe that we met again. It feels surreal sometimes, because I spent a lot of time wondering about you, and where you were, and what you were doing. I had Leslie in my mind all those years, and bang, now here’s Lee. I feel like I have a crush on you all over again. You were the smartest, kindest, and sexiest person I had ever met. Whatever has happened in your life these past years seems to have enriched all of that and you take my breath away.”

  “Oh, Nick.” Lee took Jannika’s mittens from her hands, put them back into her pockets, and took Jannika’s bare hands again.

  “I think I do want to meet your family and I want you to meet Aunt Gunnie and Marcy and Edgar and his wife. All my people. But that also feels pretty scary to me. I’ve had some rough times with my family in the past. But every time I see you, I want to spend more time with you. It feels good.”

  “It feels like we’re supposed to be here, together,” Lee said.

  “Maybe we always were.” Jannika’s heart beat faster as she said the words, and she felt her face grow warm.

  Lee brought the backs of Jannika’s hands to her lips and kissed each knuckle, then turned her hands over and kissed the middle of each palm. She placed one of Jannika’s hands at her waist while she drew circles with her tongue in the center of Jannika’s other palm. Her eyes never left Jannika’s.

  “Oh my, I’m warmer out here than I thought I’d be.”

  “Let’s see if I can warm you up even more.” Lee’s mouth found hers and they kissed.

  Lee’s lips sent a message to the rest of her body. A reminder of the last time they kissed and what followed.

  Lee removed her vest and coat and helped Jannika off with hers. They fumbled with buttons and zippers while they continued to kiss and move in awkward circles inside the lean-to.

  Jannika took Lee’s hand and guided it to her, then past the zipper on her pants.

  “Oh my, you are so wet.” Lee walked Jannika backward to the lean-to wall.

  “I told you—I feel warm when I’m with you.”

  When Jannika’s back touched the wall, she unzipped Lee’s pants and slid them down over her hips. Jannika’s lips rested near Lee’s ear and she drew the tip of her tongue along its outer edge. Her breath quickened as Lee’s fingers found her clit.

  “Hey you, my ass is going to get cold.”

  “You won’t notice it,” Jannika said.

  “I won’t?” She put a hand on the wall next to Jannika to steady herself and gave Jannika a slow kiss.

  Jannika grabbed Lee’s ass with one hand and urged Lee’s legs apart with the other. Then she parted Lee with her thumb and one finger and lightly teased her slick inner lips with another finger.

  Lee answered by sliding a finger into Jannika and kissing her again.

  “Ouch!” One of Jannika’s hands went to her head. The other pulled away from Lee as she steadied herself against the wall.

  Lee gently removed her hand from Jannika’s pants. “Did you hit your head? I’m so sorry. Let me see.”

  “Hey, I’m okay.” Jannika’s hands grabbed Lee’s behind. “Come closer.”

  Lee took a deep breath, pulled up her pants, and zipped them. “I want you, Nick. Every inch of me wants you. And being here, being in the woods with you again, only supercharges that feeling.”

  “I know. Same for me.”

  “Let’s save your head and go someplace more comfortable.” Lee grabbed their jackets and vests from the floor. They tried to help each other with their jackets, but started laughing so hard they gave up.

  “Got your mittens?”

  “No, you have them—they’re in your jacket.”

  “Here, put them on and come with me.” Lee took Jannika’s mittened hand and they power-walked back to the cottage that housed the park office. She unlocked the door and led Jannika upstairs. “Follow me.”

  “I always get the best view.”

  “Now I’m blushing.” Lee flipped a switch and a gas heater sprang to life, heating the small space in a couple of minutes.

  “Smells nice in here. Like bacon and wood smoke.” Jannika took off her things and dropped them on the couch. Then she took off Lee’s coat and unbuttoned her shirt.

  “Country girl’s aphrodisiac.”

  They laughed, then kissed. With each kiss, their tongues found new ways to make memories.

  Lee unbuttoned Jannika’s shirt, then traced a line down the center of her chest and belly to the button on the waist of her jeans. Then she traced a line back up again and slid Jannika’s bra straps down over her shoulders slowly, one at a time.

  “You’re so beautiful. My amazing Nick.” Lee ran the edge of her thumb along Jannika’s cheek and jawline. She outlined the cups of Jannika’s bra with her fingertips.

  Jannika’s hands caught Lee’s hips. She wanted Lee. On top of her, inside her, next to her. All her mind could think of was how to get closer.

  “Lee, I…”

  Lee kissed her chin and took her hand. She led her to the other side of the small room and opened a door to a small bedroom. As they got closer to the bed, Janni
ka kissed her and they both tumbled onto the bed laughing and kissing.

  ***

  Jannika woke up hungry and itchy. Lee must have pulled up the wool blanket from the bottom of the bed. She smelled food cooking and threw off the blanket, found her shirt and pants, and put them on as Lee came into the little bedroom.

  “You look properly tousled and sexy as hell,” Jannika said.

  “No one’s ever told me I tousle well.”

  “What do I smell?” She put her arms around Lee and pulled her close.

  “I found some burgers in the freezer and a can of baked beans in the cupboard. I seem to have worked up quite an appetite, and I had a feeling you might be hungry when you woke up, oh, she who is hungry after sex.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Around three.”

  “Does that mean we were…”

  “Well, you weren’t asleep for more than an hour and I didn’t fall asleep, so yes, we were heavily involved for more than three hours.”

  “I prefer to call the way we spent our time smokin’ hot sex. It sounds so much better than heavily involved. That sounds like a crime scene or something.”

  Lee shook her head. “Come with me, have some food.” Lee turned and gave her a plate with a plain burger and some baked beans.

  “I think we already did that, several times.” She blew Lee a kiss. “Is there any ketchup?”

  “You are adorable. Especially with your hair sticking up like that.”

  “What?” Jannika patted her hair, then gave up and stuck her tongue out at Lee.

  “Very cute. I seem to remember that you were the girl who used all the ketchup in camp, weren’t you? Ketchup on everything.” Lee plated her food. “Try the fridge.”

  “Hooray. Ketchup and mustard and some dried-up leafy things.”

  Lee said, “Huh. I assumed the summer staff did a final cleanup of everything, but I should’ve checked. Good thing we came.”

  “Yes, coming was a damn good thing. We should come more often, don’t you think?” Jannika felt a little punchy. Or maybe this was what joy felt like.

  “Is this what sex does to you? I like it.”

  “I think this is what damn good, smokin’ hot sex with you does to me.” Jannika speared a bite of burger and rolled it in the small mound of ketchup on her plate.

  “I won’t tell you you’re ruining that meat. I don’t want to spoil your good mood.” Lee looked positively pained, but her tone was teasing.

  She licked her lips. “Not the first time someone’s told me that. Not ruining. Making tastier.” She took another bite and smiled.

  Lee watched her eat. “Speaking of food, I’ve been wanting to ask you something and the food reminded me. I go home to my parents every November after the season is over and spend a couple of weeks around Thanksgiving visiting them, my sisters and brothers, and my assorted nieces and nephews. I was wondering if you might want to come up for Thanksgiving weekend?”

  “Oh, Lee, that sounds wonderful and intimidating as hell at the same time. Don’t you have something like eleven brothers and sisters?”

  “No, it’s not that bad. There are six of us altogether, four girls and two boys. One brother lives in Glens Falls, New York, but the rest all still live in Maine. Mom and Dad have everyone over for Thanksgiving, including a handful of friends and friends of friends. It’s an open table, more or less. I picked Thanksgiving because there would be lots of distractions.”

  Jannika finished chewing her last bite of burger and put down her fork. “Well, the store is closed on Thanksgiving, and Aunt Gunnie and I usually spend Thanksgiving together. Sometimes my mother comes and sometimes she doesn’t. But Black Friday and the weekend can be tricky, especially with the shop local push, but most people are at home shopping online or at the malls. I’ll talk to Aunt Gunnie and feel her out about it. We could make the trip up together. Your parents are over near the Kezars?”

  “Another place I’d love to take you. There’s a campground on Kezar Lake, and one of the sites is on an island in the middle of the lake. We could have our own little island.” Lee got up and stood behind Jannika, kneading her shoulders. She bent over and whispered in Jannika’s ear. Her fingers found the vee where Jannika’s shirt buttoned and the soft skin below. “I hope Aunt Gunnie says yes. We have plenty of room for both of you to stay over, and if you play your cards right, I might sneak into your room in the middle of the night.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Jannika pulled up to Aunt Gunnie’s house and saw her standing there, next to her 2014 Impala, clutching a large gray pocketbook. Aunt Gunnie liked to change out her vehicles every two or three years. It was her only extravagance. She’d keep a pair of shoes for ten years, her pots and pans were wedding presents from the 1970s, and she refused to trade out her old television for a flat screen. These quirks made Jannika love her aunt even more.

  “We’re taking the Impala. My bag’s already in the back—we’re all set. Your car doesn’t need extra miles and mine could use a few. Pass me your bag and we’ll hit the road.” Aunt Gunnie held out a hand for Jannika’s bag.

  “Auntie, I can put my bag in your car. And thanks, it’ll be nice to drive a fancy-schmancy car. And double thanks for doing this.”

  Aunt Gunnie pressed the car key into Jannika’s hand and got in the passenger’s side. “From what you tell me, she seems like a nice sort. Let’s see what the family is like.”

  Jannika found Aunt Gunnie’s favorite oldies radio station and they sang along like they had done for as long as Jannika could remember. No one on her mother’s side of the family used any more words than they had to. Aunt Gunnie always explained, “We’re Swedish, we don’t talk, we do.” But Jannika loved that her aunt was different from the rest of her family. It was one of the things that made her feel close to her. During a span of what seemed like unending commercials, Jannika turned the radio’s volume down.

  “I like this person a lot. I think it’s important that you know that.”

  “I didn’t think we’d be coming all this way if you didn’t.”

  “I mean, she does something to my heart.” Jannika put her right hand on her chest.

  Aunt Gunnie said softly, “That other girl, after you broke up…you weren’t well. I want you to have someone, like I did with your Uncle Charlie.”

  “I think she could be my Uncle Charlie.” Jannika barely whispered the words.

  “Time will tell.” Aunt Gunnie patted her leg and turned up the volume on the radio. “You need to take the next left if you’re going to Rumford.” The Brothers Four were harmonizing about their roof having a hole in it. It felt like when she was in grade school and Auntie would drive up to get her for a long weekend. Jannika learned a lot of songs from the sixties on those drives. They sang their way to Lee’s family’s farm.

  The first thing Jannika noticed was that Lee’s farmhouse property in New Hampshire looked like a miniature version of the Thompson farm. No wonder she looked so at home there, Jannika thought, taking in the barn on the right and the white farmhouse on the left. But this farmhouse looked like it had been added on to several times over. She spotted three porches, two ells, and some kind of archway that looked like it joined a small cottage to one of the ells.

  Her stomach was knotted. She got out of the car and grabbed their bags. “Which door do you think we should use?” She thought about offering to take her aunt’s bag, but knew better.

  Aunt Gunnie came around to the driver’s side of the car. “You’re jumpy as a cat. Take a good breath of this air and let’s wait a minute. With all these vehicles somebody’s sure to come out.”

  Less than a minute later, a tall slender man wearing a buffalo plaid wool shirt came out the side door. “Hi, can you help me? I’ve got to find the diaper bag and something called a pack-it-up for my cousin?” He opened the back of a Subaru Forester.

  Aunt Gunnie met the man at the car. “It’s a Pack ’n Play. I didn’t know they still made those. There it is.” She po
inted to the folded up item in question in the rear of the car. “Maybe you can help us out too. Should we go in there?” She indicated the side door.

  “Only if you want to be in the middle of a tornado. That’s the kitchen, and my aunt Peggy’s domain. I ran through. Follow me, we’ll go in the front. I’m Jason.”

  “I’m Jannika and this is my Aunt Gunnie. We’re friends of—”

  “Lee, I know. C’mon in and give me a minute to pass off this stuff, and I’ll find her.”

  They dragged their bags across the gravel driveway, up the porch, and into the house. The smell of roasting turkey, apples and cinnamon, and sausage greeted them along with the voices of children playing.

  Jason and the baby gear disappeared into a room on their left. Aunt Gunnie looked up and down the short hallway.

  “It was a long drive,” Aunt Gunnie said.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. There must be a bathroom someplace.” Jannika backed up and poked her head in a small doorway. “Here, Auntie.”

  While her aunt was in the bathroom, Jannika watched children of varying sizes, shapes, and colors play in the sunroom off the hallway. She heard louder adult voices down the other end of the hall. Aunt Gunnie stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her, just as a woman came walking down the hall toward them, with a welcoming smile.

  “Jannika. And you must be Jannika’s aunt. Lee told me to look out for you both. I’m Bonnie, but everyone in the family calls me Bon-Bon, use whichever you want. Let me take your bags to the cottage. It’s very sweet, you’ll love it. Did you see my kids out front? Well, if they weren’t there, they’re around here somewhere. And in there”—she pointed to an arched entry at the end of the dining room—“you’ll find who you’re looking for.” Bonnie stuck out an elbow and nudged Jannika twice.

  Aunt Gunnie led the way through the dining room toward the large family room. “You never did like a commotion,” she said to Jannika.