Two Hard

by Amy Brent

  He looked at himself in the full length mirror hanging on the door in his bedroom. Prince came over and sat down beside him, as if in approval of his getup.

  “What do you think, boy?” he asked Prince, reaching down to pat him on the head. “Do you think Anna will like this outfit?”

  Prince let out a single bark and wagged his tail, as if to answer his master’s question.

  Max checked the time on his cell phone. 4:23 p.m. He knew it was about an hour and half’s drive to the convent where Anna was staying. He decided it was high time for him to get on the road. He checked himself once more in the mirror and gave his hair one final run through with a comb.

  He heard the sound of a horn from outside, and knew his friend Rick had arrived. He had asked to borrow Rick’s blue sedan for his trip into the city. He hadn’t told anyone that he was going on a date with a city girl he’d met online. He wanted to surprise everyone and show up with Anna on his arm one day instead.

  He hurried outside to meet Rick in the driveway. A cool afternoon breeze kissed his forehead as if giving its blessing on his endeavor.

  “Hey Rick, how are you?” he greeted Rick and shook his hand.

  “Not too bad,” he replied, handing Max his keys.

  “Go easy on her, please,” he told Max, referring to his car.

  “Of course!” said Max, it’s for a very important meeting. I’ll have it back later tonight in one piece, I promise.”

  Max thanked his friend and got in the car. He looked back at his house through the rear view mirror as he pulled out of the driveway. Rick was waving and Prince was barking and waging his tail from the driveway.

  Max had one more important stop to make before he picked up his lovely date for the evening.

  He had the windows of Rick’s car rolled down so that wind could blow in as he drove toward the city. He clicked on the radio to listen to some soothing music along the way. As the distance grew between him and his small town of Royal Oak, it seemed smaller and smaller in the background. Within the hour, Max could see the huge towers and bright lights of the city making their first appearance over the hillside.

  His excitement began to outweigh his nervousness, the closer he got to his destination. He had looked up the address of a florist in the area, not too far from the convent where Anna stayed. He had called in a very special flower order a few days prior to his trip, and he was anxious to pick it up.

  He pulled up in front the small flower shop on the corner of a busy city street and parked by the curb. He felt his pulse began to quicken as he walked into the store to pick up Anna’s special bouquet. It was a dozen roses, 3 red, 3 yellow, 3 white and 3 pink. He knew roses were her favorite type of flower and he wanted their first date to be special as possible. He wanted them both to be able to look back upon it with fond memories. Who knows? It might just end up being a nice story for them to tell to their children some day in the future.

  Max smiled in approval when he saw he lovely rose bouquet wrapped and ready for pick-up. He also purchased a pink vase for Anna to keep them in. She had also told him that pink was her favorite color. He wanted her to think of him every time she looked at the pretty pink flower vase. The last part of Anna’s surprise consisted of a box of chocolate-covered maraschino cherries. Anna had said they were her favorite kind of candy.

  Max felt a smug grin of confidence creep across his face. He had to admit to himself, he felt quite proud of the clever and thoughtful gift assemblage he’d gathered for his very special lady friend. He paid the flower shop clerk and walked back out to the car with a huge smile on his face.

  With Anna’s special surprise in tow, Max headed for the address of the convent where Anna both worked and lived. As he finally neared his destination, his heart began to race and a thin layer of perspiration began to form on his palms. He wondered if Anna would find him as attractive in person as she did in his internet dating site profile picture.

  He parked the car near the front entrance of the huge convent. Before he got out of the car, he checked his reflection in the rearview mirror one last time. He ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair yet again, and wiped the semi-sweaty palms of his hands on his dark-colored dress pants. He bowed his head and said a quick prayer in order to bless their special night and then he sighed one last time, in a final attempt to calm his nerves.

  Max stepped out of the car, flowers and candy in hand, and looked up at the convent. It was a huge, hovering building, and it seemed a tad bit gloomy. It had a classic, ancient look about it; it was plain-looking, vast and dark, especially when compared to the brightly-lit city buildings that surrounding it. Max carefully climbed the concrete flight of stairs up to the main entrance of the convent and rang the antique-looking door bell.

  As he stood there patiently waiting on the platform at the top of the convent stairs, he soon heard the sound of approaching footsteps behind the large, cherry-colored wooden door. The sound almost caused his heart to stop, as his eager anticipation and anxiety heightened. He wondered if Anna would be the one to open the door.

  The huge, heavy wooden door opened with a loud squeaking sound. To Max’s great surprise, standing before him was a short, stout old nun. She smiled a semi-toothless smile when she saw Max outside the door.

  “You must be Max,” said the stout old nun, her thin-lipped grin never leaving her face. She extended a small, wrinkled hand out toward him and shook his hand firmly. “I’m Sister Henderson. Anna has told us so much about you! Come in! Come in!”

  “Thank you,” Max replied, politely returning her smile.

  The old nun opened the door wider and motioned for Max to follow her inside. She abruptly shut the large squeaky door behind them.

  “What beautiful flowers!” Sister Henderson exclaimed as Max followed her down a long, narrow dimly-lit hallway. “Anna loves roses!”

  “Yes ma’am, I know. She told me. That’s why I got them for her. I really hope she likes them,” said Max.

  “Oh, she’s gonna love them!” said Sister Henderson.

  Max followed her to the end of the long hallway, around a bend and up a short flight of stairs. The ended up in a small office with a desk and chair and a few empty seats near the wall.

  “This is my office,” Sister Henderson said proudly. “Please, have a seat! Anna will be down shortly.”

  “Thank you, Sister,” Max said, nodding his head in affirmation.

  Max sat down in one of the empty chairs sitting against the wall of the small office. It was a small, wooden chair with crimson-colored padding on the seat. Max tried hard not to fidget in seat, but he felt like a kid on Christmas day.

  “Anna said you were handsome in your photo. She was right,” Sister Henderson winked at Max and flashed another grin in his direction. Max felt himself starting to blush. He was glad that Anna found him attractive, but the old nun was making him nervous again.

  “Thank you, Sister,” he uttered quietly, staring down at the office floor. He still had Anna’s gifts in his hands and he placed the heart-shaped candy box neatly on his lap.

  Just then, Max heard what sounded like the heels of a woman’s shoes coming down the hall. This is it, he said to himself, and felt his heart skip a beat all over again. He sat up real straight in his seat and tried his hardest to put a look of confidence on his face. He cleared his throat and shifted the multi-colored rose bouquet from one hand to the other, as the heeled footsteps got closer and closer.

  “Here she comes, now,” said Sister Henderson. She seemed to be slightly amused at Max’s obvious anxiousness.

  Anna walked into the office of the convent looking absolutely ravishing. Max’s jaw dropped to the floor as soon as he saw her walk in. She was every bit as beautiful in person as she was in her solemn-looking profile photo, in fact, even more so. The first thing Max noticed about her was the grace with which she carried herself. She had smooth, creamy, flawless skin, a pair of mesmerizing sea-green eyes, and long, wavy, flowing dark hair. Max instinctivel
y felt as if she was a real-life angel sent down from Heaven itself. He quickly stood up to greet her when she came into the room.

  Anna was wearing a lovely pink dress that hugged her slender, model-like figure perfectly. The v-shaped neck of the dress she was wearing dipped down just low enough to reveal the slightest hint of her cleavage, and her bosom appeared to be perfectly round and firm beneath it.

  Max tried hard not to stare at her breasts, lovely as they were, and gave her entire figure a complete once-over with his eyes. Her legs were long and toned, and her baby pink stiletto heels matched her gorgeous pink dress to sheer perfection. Max could hardly believe his eyes as he gazed upon her lavish beauty. He found it hard to conceive that a woman this unbelievably striking was actually interested in him. Thank you, Lord! Max mumbled under his breath as he stood there, flowers, vase and candy box in hand, basking in the unfathomable ambience of her presence.

  “Hello, Max!” she said, flashing him the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen in his entire life.

  “Wow! You look absolutely stunning, Anna! It’s so nice to finally meet you face to face,” he held out the gifts he’d brought her.

  Anna’s entire face lit up with delight when she saw the beautiful bouquet of multi-colored roses, her favorite flower in the world. Max would’ve gladly bought a thousand more bouquets just to see her face light up that way again.

  “Oh my gosh!’ Anna exclaimed with sheer joy in her melodious voice. “Thank you, Max! These are my favorite flowers!”

  Max chuckled a bit.

  “Yes, I know,” he said, suddenly feeling both smug and confident.

  “These are so beautiful, Max! Thank you so much!” She examined the flowers in awe. Max handed her the vase and the heart-shaped box of chocolate-covered cherries as well.

  “Omigosh, how thoughtful of you, Max!” Anna looked as if she just might shed a solitary tear of joy. My favorite flowers and favorite candy, and a lovely vase in my favorite color!”

  Sister Henderson came over to help her with the flowers.

  “Here, I’ll go and fill this with water for you,” said the old nun, taking the vase and leaving the room.

  Anna looked completely smitten, and it boosted Max’s confidence significantly. Seeing Anna so happy made him feel happy himself.

  “I’m so glad you like them,” said Max.

  “Oh Max, I LOVE them!” She reached out and gave Max a long, passionate hug. Max was thrown off guard when she pressed her soft, slender body up against his. She smelled sweet, like field of ripe honeysuckle on a warm summer day. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes, briefly, enjoying the way she felt inside his arms.

  She planted a soft kiss on his cheek as she finally pulled away.

  Sister Henderson came back into the room with the water-filled vase. Anna set the bouquet of roses snugly inside of it.

  “I’ll take these up to your room for you, Anna,” said Sister Henderson. “Go on, get out of here before you miss your dinner reservation!”

  Max offered his arm to Anna.

  “Shall we?” he asked with a grin.

  “We shall,” replied Anna, returning his grin.

  Max showed her to the car and opened the passenger side door for her. He had always been a chivalrous gentleman, as that’s how his late parents and the Pastor and his wife had raised him. While walking to his seat, he could feel Ana’s eyes on him. He was pleased with himself. The time he’d spent grooming himself in the mirror today finally paid off.

  Once in the driver’s seat, he paused to look at Anna, who was already eyeing him. A spark had been ignited between them and both of them could feel it.

  “I feel like the luckiest man in the world right now,” he told her, grinning from ear to ear.

  Anna giggled nervously. The sounds of her laughter was music to Max’s ears. He knew then and there that he was quickly falling in love with her.

  They made small talk as they drove to their destination. Anna made sure to le Max know she thought he looked really nice, and he felt his confidence rise through the roof. Soon, they arrived at the Hotel Calzaghe, the 5-star city restaurant Max had made reservations at.

  A valet opened the door for Anna while Max looked in awe at the breathtaking building that stood before him. They made their way into the grand hotel where they were escorted by a hostesses to their table: a sturdy round table with two candles and a rose vase. The contrast the luminous white table cloth made with the yellowish glow of the candle and the red rose seemed marvelous. It was a very classy and romantic dinner setting.

  Throughout their dinner, they both conveyed the tragedies of their past, the contentment they had both found in their present, and the hopes and aspirations for the future. They had found a real connection with each other unlike any either of them had ever experienced before. They found out how much they really had in common, and Max loved everything Anna had to say. Although it was only their first official date, Max was already feeling so close to her, that it felt as if he had known her all his life. He wondered if that what’s the term “soul mate” meant.

  The date was a blissful one for both of them. Max wished it didn’t have to eventually come to an end. He enjoyed every moment spent with Anna. After an amazing dinner of steaks and soufflé, Max knew he had to get Anna back to the convent and head back home before it got too late. He was already thinking up a great idea for their next date.

  When they arrived back at the convent, they were both silent. Max was as chivalrous as ever and went to open up the door for Anna.

  “Tonight was the best date I’ve ever been on. Thank you for showing me such a wonderful time Max.” said Anna.

  “Get used to it,” said Max, “because I plan to take you out on many more in the near future.”

  As they stood outside of the convent in the cool summer night air, Max watched Anna’s hair blowing ever so faintly in the breeze. He thought she looked perfect in that moment and he wanted no more than to take her in his arms and kiss her deeply, passionately. He’d never wanted anything else more in his entire life.

  She moved in closer toward him and looked directly into his eyes. Her piercing green eyes were shining slightly in the moonlight. Max couldn’t take it anymore.

  “God, Anna, I really want to kiss you right now,” he blurted out.

  “Well, what’s stopping you?” she raised her lovely dark eyebrows at him and moved in even closer.

  Max reached out and pulled her into his arms. He closed his eyes and kissed her with all of the passion and emotion he was feeling in that moment. He was trying to convey a message to her, to communicate the deep, growing feelings he was having for her through his lips.

  The feel of Anna’s smooth, soft lips against his sent a sensation through his body unlike any he’d ever felt before. He savored the taste of her lips and relished the feel of her body so close to his. He wanted their kiss to last forever, but after a moment, he pulled away, knowing it was time for the two of them to par ways for the evening.

  “Good night, Anna,” he said, holding on to her soft hands, not yet wanting to let her go.

  “Good night, Max,” said Anna, as she finally let go of his hands and went inside.

  Max raced down the steps and back to the car, feeling like he’d just won the lottery. He had no doubt in his mind now. Anna was “the one.”

  A few months later…

  Max hurried to get dressed so he could be ready to leave as soon as Anna’s cab arrived. They had made plans to go to Max’s church together and he was looking forward to introducing her to his church family. As he fixed his hair in the mirror, he heard the taxi beep the horn out front.

  Prince ran to the front room and began to bark.

  “Easy, boy,” said Max, stroking Prince’s ears. “It’s just Anna. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”

  Max ran out to meet the cab in the driveway. Anna was standing just outside the car.

  She looked lovely, as usual. Every time Max saw her, he f
elt she grew more beautiful each time. He hurried over and greeted her with a hug and a soft kiss. She was wearing a pretty cream-colored dress and matching pair of heels. Max loved her classy, elegant style of dress. She was always dressed very nice every time he saw her.

  Max paid the cab driver and sent him on his way.

  “Come on in, I’ll introduce you to Prince,” said Max. She followed him inside and saw the large friendly-looking golden retriever standing just inside the doorway of Max’s house.

  “Hi Prince,” She greeted the dog sweetly and held out her hand to pet him.

  Prince rushed over to her, wagging his tail excitedly.

  “He likes you,” said Max.

  He looked at the time on his phone and saw that it was getting close to 11 a.m.

  “We should probably get going,” Max told Anna, who was kneeled down petting a very happy and content-looking Prince.

  Max grabbed his wallet and cell phone and led Anna out to his pickup truck. The two of them headed over to Max’s church where Pastor Phillip was the head reverend. They pulled into the church parking lot and Max opened the door for Anna, as usual. They proudly walked arm-in-arm into the church.

  As they entered to chapel, many heads turned to see a beautiful young woman on Max’s arm. He couldn’t feel more proud to have Anna with him at that moment. He let a satisfied smile creep across his face. He and Anna made their way to a church pew near the front of the chapel and sat down. Max was looking forward to introducing Anna to Pastor Phillip and his wife, Katherine.

  After service had ended, Max led Anna over to the pastor and his wife.

  “Pastor, Katherine, this is my girlfriend, Anna,” Max announced proudly.

  Both Pastor Phillip’s and Katherine’s eyes widened in surprise. Huge smiles appeared on both of their faces.

  “So very nice to meet you, young lady,” said Pastor Phillip, shaking Anna’s hand enthusiastically.