by Amelia Jones
“The best part,” he said, “is that I can get started with some of the paperwork already.”
Alicia was about to ask him what his father thought of the idea when she realized that the time had come for her to begin to view her life in a whole new light. Howard was clearly doing this project with no thought of having his father’s approval or thwarting his father’s life plan for him.
He was doing it because this was his passion.
***
It was Saturday night before Howard kissed Alicia. She had been kissed before, several times. She had even briefly dated two separate boyfriends during high school, one in her first year and one in her last year. She always disliked that time at the end of the date because it was a double edged sword.
The kisses had felt good and she’d liked having the boy’s arms around her but after the first few kisses good night, the hands would begin to wander, which had irritated her no end. Now with Howard kissing her and his arms around her, she felt her heart pound against her ribcage and wanted time to stand still.
She wasn’t a teenager anymore but her dating experience had not increased since high school. Howard pressed his lips against her forehead and asked, “May I see you again?”
She felt her tummy flip and she placed her head on his chest.
She said, “Yes.”
She had talked to him every day since their second dinner date and they had gone out for the third date this evening. Alicia had crushes and felt attraction to boys and men ever since she was a teenager. She knew that she was attracted to Howard from the very first time she looked into his eyes.
What she had not known was this feeling she could sense growing inside her heart and mind. There were things she wanted to tell Howard, things she wanted to share with him. He made her feel centered in a way she couldn’t explain and the way he never took himself seriously helped her relax. She was breathing easily for the first time since Sophie left home and Sunday morning when her mother called, Alicia answered the phone and for the first time in living memory she did not have that choking feeling.
No, she explained patiently, she did not want to visit her parents that afternoon. This had been a ritual of theirs, where her mother called on Sunday and demanded that Alicia visit and Alicia dutifully marched over to their house and relived every miserable feeling from her childhood.
Alicia and Howard had not made any plans to get together on Sunday. They agreed to see each other again but they had no set plans.
Her mother said, “Be here around two.”
“I’m sorry mother, but that doesn’t work for me today.”
As expected, her mother began to wail and then demanded to know what could be more important than seeing her own mother, who had sacrificed everything for her. Then she said, “Oh I suppose you’re spending time with some of your fancy nurse friends. You probably think these people are more important than I am; your own mother.”
Alicia interrupted her mother’s flow of words and said, “Mother. It’s not that I’m spending time with anyone. I just have other plans for this afternoon.”
Her mother spewed invective, and slammed down the receiver. Alicia knew that daddy would be on the receiving end of her mother’s anger and she felt a certain amount of grief for her mother. But for the past week she had seen her mother through new lenses.
She was an extremely unhappy woman and there was nothing Alicia could do to alleviate that unhappiness. All she could do was to try to step outside of her own self and embrace the world around her.
She picked up her cell phone and punched in Howard’s phone number. It was the first time that she had ever called him.
“Hey Howard,” Alicia said when he answered, “I was thinking, I’d like to take you out to dinner tonight. There’s a great little burger joint around the corner from where I live. We could walk there from my place; or drive…….your choice.”
There was a long pause.
“Hello, Howard?”
At the other end of the phone line, Howard grinned. “Hey, who is this? It can’t be Alicia. She’s the woman who never makes decisions.”
“So, is that a yes or a no,” Alicia laughed.
“Oh it’s a definite yes,” Howard said.
Heart beating wildly, Howard showed up at Alicia’s doorstep in his sports’ car. Before he turned off the engine, she came out looking as lovely as ever and slipped into the passenger’s seat beside him. There were so many thoughts racing through his mind.
“Hey.” He said.
“Hey back.” She smiled at him.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The engine was running, but he didn’t move.
“What’s the matter?” Concern laced her voice. “Have you changed your mind about going out?”
“What? No!”
“Okay. Good.”
He realized then that this wasn’t easy for her and she was nervous. That gave him the confidence to say what he needed to say. He took a deep breath again for courage and let it out.
“So we’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks now,” He began. “And this is the first time I’ve got a call from you.”
She frowned. “Should I not have called?”
“I’m glad you did. But before we go anywhere, I’d like you to know that this is not just a lark for me. I’m serious about you…about us. I would like for us to date.”
She became silent and he began to sweat where he was seated. Had he spoken to early? What if he scared her away? He decided to go on.
“I’m crazy about you. You keep me centered and give me the courage to go after my dreams. I want to do the same for you too. I know you’re not ready, but I just want you to know that I’m going to keep on trying until you are.”
“Howard?”
Her quiet voice startled him and he turned to look at her. “Yeah?”
She cupped his face with one hand and gazed into his eyes. “I’d like that.”
“Huh?”
She smiled at him then, “I’d love for us to date.”
He felt joy explode deep inside him at that and he closed his eyes briefly in gratitude. He opened his eyes and leaned forward, closing the gap between them. “You do know how to drive a guy mad.” He murmured.
“I do my best.” She batted her eyelashes at him before his mouth closed in on hers.
Their kiss was sure and filled with promises of the days to come.
End
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7