“Hey, I completely understand,” he whispered as he kissed her forehead. “I’m not a kid. There’s nothing that can’t wait.”
“I’m just confused,” she explained as a tear streamed down her cheek from her left eye. “I know what I want more than anything, but I just can’t.” Henry smiled and wiped her cheek.
“You’re forgetting, I’m a traditional guy, and this isn’t some one night stand in the red light district. I’m pretty sure it’ll be ok. Somebody keeps telling me to relax and just let everything happen naturally. You might want to listen to your own advice.”
Millie smiled at his kindness.
“You know what I want to do more than anything tonight?” he asked her. She shook her head.
“I want to sit on this couch, talk to Jake, watch a funny movie about a girl who got hit by a car or a guy who lost his leg, and hold my best girl. Sound good to you?”
Millie broke into a grin that went from ear to ear. As the popcorn bag rolled onto the floor, she put her arms around Henry and kissed him passionately while the opening scene of the movie played on the television.
Many people grow to love another over time as the result of small actions or kindnesses shown. For others, it is a lightning strike that comes out of the blue without warning. In Millie’s case, it didn’t matter how or when it happened, all she knew from that moment forward was that she loved Henry and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
Chapter 17
“The Zone”
Just after 7:00 a.m., Henry started to stir and immediately began to feel the stiffness that had settled into his muscles overnight. He was disoriented for a few seconds before he realized that Millie’s head was resting peacefully on his chest. They had fallen asleep during the movie and spent the night together in an exhausted and uncomfortable contortion on the couch. He laid there for a while, enjoying the warmth of her body and listening to her deep breaths. It had been a very long time since he had woken up next to a woman, and he liked the feeling of security it brought him. Even though the sleeping arrangements were cramped and considerably less than ideal, he made no move to wake her. Rather, he noticed the small pool of saliva that had dripped onto his shirt from her mouth as she snored softly, and it amused him. Joe had nosed her way into a tiny spot beneath his ribs on a sliver of the cushion, and he gently stroked her as he laid there and relished the experience.
For decades, Henry had slept alone comfortably in his bed where he had all the room in the world to stretch out and relax. After Joe came along, he gained the companionship of a sleeping buddy and it made him happy to share his bed with someone again. However, on this morning he discovered that his happiest night in years had been spent sleeping on a crowded couch with someone drooling on him.
“Oh Lord, did we doze off down here?” Millie mumbled as she began to stir. Seeing that she was now awake, Henry gently kissed her forehead.
“Yep, I missed the end of the movie. Now, I’ll never know if that girl walks down the aisle or has to be wheeled,” he quipped. Millie chuckled as she began to sit up carefully and stretch her arms into the air.
“Well, I never even got past the accident, and I was out like a light.”
“I at least got that far. You missed it, funny as hell,” he tossed in recalling that she had billed the film as a comedy.
“Hmm, yeah I bet.”
Now that she had moved off of his chest, Henry was able to pivot his feet to the floor. However, his attempt to do so without disturbing Joe ended in failure.
“Sorry kid,” he apologized as Joe was unceremoniously dumped onto the carpet. She was still in a stupor as she slid through spilled popcorn to safety underneath the coffee table.
“Say Joe, you slept down here too, huh?” Millie said addressing the little cat.
“Yeah, when I woke up, you guys were sawing them off pretty good.” Henry pointed to a silver dollar-sized wet spot on his dress shirt as evidence.
“Oh goodness, is that from me? I’m sorry about that,” she apologized as she attempted to straighten her twisted pajama shirt into a more comfortable position. Henry smiled.
“It’s ok. I haven’t had a good-looking woman drool on me in a long time.”
He stood and stretched his back with a groan that was somewhere between a grizzly bear and Big Foot in tone and volume. The boisterous display caught Millie off guard, and she let out a yelp because it startled her.
“Good Lord! What on earth was that?” Millie exclaimed.
“Just busting off some rust,” Henry crowed with pleasure as he walked with a mild limp out of the room.
“Heaven’s sakes, it’s too early for that nonsense. You’re gonna stop my heart one of these days!”
“If I stop your heart, you can be damn sure it won’t be from yelling,” he jabbed back as he ambled stiffly upstairs toward his bathroom. The hidden meaning of his comment wasn’t lost on her as she happily recalled the events of the past few days. I believe you, she thought.
After Millie had shaken off the cobwebs, she immediately headed to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. While it brewed, she scooted upstairs to the spare bathroom to brush her teeth and assess the wear and tear a night with Henry on the couch had done to her. She was pleased to discover that she had come through it all relatively unscathed, and after washing her face, she brushed her hair and applied a few light touch-ups before changing into a clean set of work clothes. By the time she returned to the kitchen, she found Henry standing next to the counter enjoying a cup of coffee and looking equally fresh and ready to go.
“The coffee smells good,” she said as she hit the bottom step.
“Here, let me pour you some,” Henry offered as he pulled the pot from the warmer and proceeded to fill a cup he had waiting for her.
“Thanks!”
“You’re welcome,” he acknowledged.
“How’s your back feeling?” she asked as she added some cream to her cup from a pitcher Henry had left for her on the island.
“I’ll live. I took a couple of ibuprofen, and it’s already starting to loosen up. It’s not bad, though, just was a little stiff from all of the ups and downs at Anne’s and then our slumber party.”
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t expect to pass out like that. I guess a belly full of pizza, a couple of talks with Jake, and all of your kisses after a long day of cleaning did me in.”
“What are you talking about? I had one helluva good time. I might have picked a better place for us to sleep,” he said, stretching his back, “but I wouldn’t trade last night for the world.”
Millie knew that he meant every word, and she was touched by his sincerity. She leaned over and gave him a series of small kisses capped by one that was longer and filled with more emotion.
“What was all that for?” Henry asked softly after she had pulled away.
Millie looked lovingly into his eyes and paused for a second before answering. She knew what she wanted to say but decided to alter her words slightly for now. “Just for being you, sweetie. That’s all, just for being you.”
Henry and Millie took their time sipping on coffee and talking around the kitchen table. They were thoroughly enamored with their newly established intimacy and not in any particular hurry to change the venue and thereby the mood of the moment. Neither was particularly hungry anyway so they opted to forgo breakfast at The Eager Beaver for a thermos of coffee and a box of donuts they could bring with them to Anne’s house. After all, Millie suggested, it was likely that Anne would not have eaten much either yet due to the state of affairs in her disheveled household. While this was certainly a distinct possibility, the truth of the matter was that they simply didn’t want to be around other people right now. They were engrossed in discussing the past and the future, and it was a chance for them to explore a new facet of their relationship. Soon, it was time to get on the road if they were to arrive at Anne’s on schedule. Once Millie had gathered her things, and Henry loaded a few tools he
wanted to bring along in the back of the Explorer, they were off. It was an overcast morning that put a gloomy pall over the landscape, but their moods could not have possibly been brighter or more unaffected.
“What would you think about bringing some of your things out here?” Henry asked as they turned out of the driveway and sped down the road toward Lewis.
“Well, I don’t know. Are you serious? Would you want me to do that?” she asked. She was surprised by his question but excited about the possibilities.
“Yeah, I mean why not? You could set up the spare bedroom as yours if you want to. Hell, nobody else is ever going to use it. I just thought that maybe now you’d want to stay out here with me sometimes.”
Millie was stunned by his proposal. With all that had happened in such a short time, she was caught off guard but yet very receptive to the idea. She gave it a moment to roll it over in her mind and then made her decision.
“Ok, I think that’d be really nice, Henry. Are you sure? I mean, you want to do this so soon?” she questioned him, not wanting to do anything to damage the momentum that was building between them.
Henry couldn’t help but laugh. He understood what she was hinting at but, on the other hand, they weren’t a couple just completing a first blind date.
“You know, it’s not like we just met,” he teased. “I kind of have an idea about who you are and you sure as heck know all about me. Come on now, you’ve been doing my laundry for twenty-five years; I think the secrets are out the window.”
Millie couldn’t help but chuckle. Henry had a way of cutting right to the heart of the matter that was hard to argue with.
“True,” she conceded. “It would be nice to eat dinner together and not have to always worry about running home if it’s getting late,” she observed aloud.
“Exactly. I’m sick and tired of always spending my evenings and weekends alone. I’m not saying we ought to run out and get married tomorrow, but let’s at least really try this thing on all the way and see if it fits.”
There it was. Unwittingly Henry had crossed into a new territory that hadn’t been traversed between them ever before. Both he and Millie immediately recognized what he had said, and they quietly reflected on what it meant. Silence overtook the cabin of the truck broken only by the sound of the tires on the pavement and the hum of the motor as they drove along. They suddenly were caught in a game, each waiting for the other to speak first. Sensing this, Henry finally moved to break up the logjam.
“Don’t you agree that it makes sense? I’m not saying you ought to move in tonight and stay forever, but don’t you at least want to stay with me sometimes and find out if we like living that way?” he asked wholeheartedly.
Millie could see how Henry had evolved from the cold and distant man who was once only an employer into the caring and sensitive man with her now. Her heart leaped, and she felt compelled to lessen the seriousness of the moment.
“You’re only saying that because I said I wouldn’t be with you unless you were my husband,” she stated in the most deadpan tone she could muster. “You’re just trying to work me into your bed, that’s all. I can see you coming a mile away, Henry Engel.”
Henry digested her answer for a moment before he slowly began to chuckle and then ultimately erupted with laughter. “You’re sassing me again,” he declared jovially. “I hate to admit it, but I love when you do that.”
“I know you do,” Millie agreed. “I’m just trying to keep you on your toes.”
“So what do you say? It’s a plan then?”
“Oh yeah, it’s a plan,” she confirmed as they turned onto Main Street and drew closer to Anne’s house.
Looking at the time, they decided to go past Millie’s place and pick up her car later rather than before going to Anne’s. After all, it now seemed likely that they would be going back to Oak Forest together that night. Instead, Henry drove to a small donut shop that was on the way, and they picked up a dozen assorted pastries to share with the author as they worked.
As they stepped onto Anne’s porch, everything had a different texture than it had just one day before. It now felt to them as if they were a “couple” arriving at the home of their niece or daughter rather than two friends coming to the aid of another. It wasn’t a strange or odd feeling, though, which was perhaps the most surprising thing of all. Rather, it felt as comfortable as slipping one’s feet into a favorite pair of shoes. The fit was perfect.
From the very first that Anne saw them that day, she could tell that something had changed. There was an easiness between them that she had not witnessed before. She wondered what had passed between them in the night and noted that they had returned in a single vehicle rather than separately as before. The whole thing was almost as thrilling to her as the box of donuts that Henry carried. Almost. As Millie had suspected, Anne had neglected to eat and, in fact, had nearly forgotten to sleep. However, she looked well and was in especially high spirits as the trio sat around Molly Stewart’s kitchen table munching on chocolate Long Johns and drinking coffee.
“I just knew this house was going to be spectacular!” Anne exclaimed through a mouthful of donut before catching her own lack of manners. “Sorry, I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
“So you stayed up nearly all night?” Henry asked, attempting to clarify a previous statement she’d made about only getting an hour or two of sleep.
“Sure did. I get like this sometimes, almost obsessed. I’ve got this book that is almost writing itself right now, and I hate to sleep or do anything else until I get it all down on paper.”
“Wow, that’s something. This is the one that brought you here to talk to me, right?” he said as he took a drink of coffee.
“Actually no; it’s another one that just sort of fell in my lap. That other one is good and all but it’s on hold for now. This new one is solid gold, and I’m running with it as far as it takes me.” Though she was tired and hungry, her words were inspired and passionate.
“How about that?” Millie commented with admiration. “Is it always like that when you write a book?”
Anne shook her head with a grin as she reached for another donut. “Not hardly. Mostly it’s just filthy low-down work grinding out the pages. But sometimes, it’s like magic almost. I know the story from start to end before I begin, but I don’t know what the words will be until my fingers strike the keys. When it’s like that, I lose hours and hours like they were minutes. It’s an amazing feeling. I call it being in the zone.”
“I guess it’s a good thing then, right?” Millie asked, trying to understand.
“Oh yes, it’s the very best! Each time it’s happened before I’ve written a bestseller. My agent loves it! He always asks me why I don’t always get that way, but he doesn’t understand. I don’t have any control over when it comes or goes, unfortunately.”
“Ok, I kind of get what you’re saying,” Henry stated, starting to comprehend what she was feeling. “It’s like a day on the golf course when you can’t miss a shot or when you’re suddenly hitting every fastball out of the park, but you can’t explain why?”
“Exactly!” Anne exclaimed relating to his sports references. “It’s surreal!”
“I had an experience like that one time golfing with Reagan.”
His offhanded reference to one of our nation’s most popular presidents and the former most powerful man in the free world stopped both women in their tracks.
“Excuse me?” Millie jumped in, catching the name Henry had just dropped without any hint of importance.
“Yeah, you know, Ronald Reagan? Except he wasn’t the President of the United States then, he was the Governor of California,” he added matter-of-factly without any special emphasis as if he was referring to the local butcher.
“You must be kidding!” Anne bellowed. “That’s extraordinary!”
“Ronnie was pretty good, and we played a few times over the years before I came back here to Lewis but one day I just ate his lunch. I couldn�
�t miss a shot. It was the damnedest thing. He just laughed and laughed and said he was going to tell Nancy he beat me. I never played like that before or after but that one day I could’ve beaten anybody on the tour, and I still have no idea how the hell I did it.”
“You were in the zone,” Anne declared.
“Unbelievable,” Millie muttered wondering what other former presidents Henry knew. “Do you ever still talk to him?” she asked with awe.
“Oh no, we weren’t best pals or anything like that. I was involved in some of the same things that he was over the years, and I got to know him and Nancy a little bit. I saw that he and I were like-minded on a lot of issues, so I supported his campaigns, and we stayed in touch. It’s been quite a while since he wrote me a letter.”
“Oh, I see,” Millie said as she shook her head and looked at Anne with exaggerated eyes. “Come to think of it, I haven’t had a letter from Lincoln lately either.”
Anne laughed at Millie’s harassment of Henry as he made a move to stand and get to work. He didn’t like braggarts and the intimation that he was dropping names offended him.
“Now, don’t get all hurt, I’m just teasing you,” Millie apologized. “I just never heard about any of this before. Makes me wonder what else I don’t know.”
“Lots and lots,” Henry fired back with vigor as Millie giggled.
Indeed, Anne thought privately. I am so completely in the zone! This just gets better and better.
Celebrations With Jake and Joe Page 19