“I’m young again. Oh, Johnny, I’m young again!” She beamed a bright smile up at him, relishing how suddenly light, buoyant and carefree she felt—as if decades of worry, illness, stress and the rigors of daily life had been lifted from her being.
“Indeed you are.” Johnny captured her lips in a kiss so adoring it made her knees buckle.
Betsy held onto him as if she were afraid he’d disappear into thin air unless she had him in her grasp. The last time they’d kissed that’s almost exactly what happened.
“I’ve waited more than sixty years to give you a welcome home kiss,” she whispered. “And you’re even more delicious than I remembered. But…but how…what…”
Johnny nodded toward the sofa. “Look,” was all he said.
Betsy’s fingers flew to her lips as she turned her attention to the sofa. The oddly familiar form of an old woman rested against the cushions, the hint of a smile affixed on her features. “It’s…it’s me.” A sudden rush of sympathy for her old worn body flushed through Betsy as she looked at her eighty-something self. “Oh, that’s it. Of course,” she said, a knowing smile taking hold. It was odd how the realization didn’t alarm or frighten her in the least—it simply felt matter-of-fact, natural. “I’m dead, right?”
“Just your body.” Johnny nodded. “But your soul, your vital essence stands here before me now, and that never dies.”
“I always believed this day would come, Johnny. The day we’d be reunited.”
Somewhere in the distance Betsy heard knocking and then a familiar voice.
“Mom? Mom, are you okay? Answer the door.”
The knocking became more insistent and then she heard the distinct clink of a key turning in her door’s lock.
John Lakeside, Jr. rushed through the door and stopped short when he saw the vision before him. One glance at the transparent image of a young man and woman embracing had his jaw dropping, while seeing past the couple, to the still form of his mother on the sofa had him gasping out, “Mom!” He ran to her side, checking for a pulse.
It’s okay, John,” Betsy’s ghost assured him calmly. “Don’t be sad. I’m with your dad. He’s come back for me, just like he promised.” She smiled warmly at her son.
John turned toward the ghostly specters, cocking his head at the father he’d never had an opportunity to meet. “Dad?” he said in an incredulous tone. As he stared, Betsy could see the realization set in when her son finally recognized her youthful form. “Mom, you’re…you’re young…”
“I’ll take good care of her,” Johnny said. “I love you, son, and I’m so proud of you.”
“I…I love you too, both of you,” John said, ignoring the stream of tears coursing down his cheeks. With a long look at his mother’s blissful, satisfied smile as she stood in her husband’s arms, John’s face relaxed. Slowly his lips curved into a broad smile. “Merry Christmas,” he whispered.
“Merry Christmas, John,” Betsy said, blowing a kiss to her son. “We’ll see each other again one day. Be happy.”
She looked up at her husband then, filled with such happiness she could barely speak. Before Betsy even had a chance to open her mouth to try, something otherworldly commenced and she found herself being transported. In what seemed like an instant, Betsy was standing with Johnny in the middle of a field of flowers. The depth and brilliance of the floral colors, the beguiling fragrance, the velvety grass, the way the sun shone soft and golden about them, everything about the magnificent place was beyond mortal description.
“Remember when we said we wished we could be together like this one day?” Johnny asked.
Nodding slowly as she took everything in, Betsy answered, “A place without war or fear or hatred. Someplace where we could—”
“Hold each other in our arms forever,” Johnny finished, drawing Betsy close and brushing his lips across hers. “Making love to each other.”
“We…we will be able to stay together, won’t we, Johnny?”
“Forever, blue eyes.”
With a loving kiss, Johnny led his beloved Betsy to their appointment with eternity.
About the Author
Daisy Dexter Dobbs has a valid reason for lying when she’s asked where she gets the ideas for her books. She knows most people wouldn’t believe the truth about the madcap mayhem that goes on in her daily life. Case in point: Imagine frantically trying to file your way out of a locked bathroom door with a teeny nail file, dressed in nothing but a too-small towel while you're waiting for a real estate agent and a family with three small kids to arrive for a showing of your house. Okay, now picture the contents of a box of just-delivered sex toys (purely for research purposes, you understand) strewn on the bed just outside that locked bathroom door. Mmm-hmm, it really happened.
Happily married to her soulmate, the award winning artist and writer believes in love, happily-ever-afters and the wondrous, magical escapism of reading and writing.
Daisy welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Also by Daisy Dexter Dobbs
Accidental Foursome
Caroline’s Christmas Viking
Polly’s Perilous Pleasures
Wednesday Nights with Jamie
Wicked Payback
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
www.ellorascave.com
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