Twenty-Four Hours

by Sherrie Henry

  “I think you look beautiful.”

  Forcing herself back to the present, she blushed. No one had ever said that to her before. It was right out of those bodice-rippers she had just been thinking about. Now she felt uncomfortable and wanted to get away from this topic, Michaelia looked him square in the eyes. “You say you’re here because I asked for help?”

  “The Elders heard your wish. So I’m here. I’m to give you your 24 hours you wanted.”

  Michaelia swallowed; her breakfast was threatening to make a re-appearance. “Oh, so … you’re here to pretend to like me, romance me, because of a wish?”

  “Sorta, but really, it’s not like that. Guardians are very serious about their jobs. When I heard about your wish, about what you wanted, I asked for this assignment. Because I truly think you are beautiful, desirable, all those things no one’s ever said to you before. I want to romance you. And if it was up to me, it would be more than 24 hours, but I have to follow the rules. The wish was for 24 hours and I want to give you the 24 hours you will never forget.” Michael tossed his napkin on his plate. “Now, there’s a carnival in town, shall we head out over there? Have some fun?”

  Michaelia gave him a smile. “Sure, that sounds nice. I know Tracie and Sheryl from the office said they were going, their boyfriends were taking them. Well, Tracie’s “fiancé” is taking her. You should have seen the rock she was showing off at the office this past week.” Michaelia gave a face, trying to keep the jealousy out of her voice.

  “So it sounds like the place to see and be seen. Let’s go.” Michael stood up and offered his hand to her; she certainly wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, but accepted his hand to stand up, fully intending to withdraw her hand once she was standing.

  Michael had other ideas; clasping his hand in hers he lead her out of the restaurant, right past a few people she recognized from work, as they all craned their necks to see who she was with. Made her feel special … for the first time in her lonely life.

  * * * * *

  The carnival was noisy and crowded, smells of hot dogs, elephant ears, corn dogs, both the washed and unwashed examples of humanity, all these smells blended, wafting over the crowded vicinity. The new, rank scent hung in the humid air, clinging to everything and everyone in sight. To the left, there were carnival barkers, bellowing out their games, daring anyone in earshot to step right up and try their luck. Although luck had nothing to do with these rigged games, the huge stuffed animals being the irresistible enticement for the children and girlfriends alike. To the right, fattening foods of every kind were to be had, every nutritionist’s nightmare.

  And through it all, through every side show, through every ride, Michael held Michaelia’s hand, letting go only the times when she needed it. He even once kissed two scraped knuckles she banged against the gate. Prince Charming had nothing on him, this was the fairytale of her dreams. Turning the corner of the water guns booth, her laugh at his joke dying as she heard familiar voices … Tracie and Sheryl … calling her name. She stiffened, the voices cutting through her, thinking her wonderful day was about to be spoiled. There they were, tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee, dressed in their finest low-cut, high-rise fashions. As they approached, she fully expected Michael to drop her hand like a hot potato, but he held on … even tighter.

  “Why Mickey … who’s this you got visiting? A cousin?” Tracie had this shrill, high-pitched voice and anyone who was in earshot turned to look.

  Michaelia tensed at the pet nickname Tracie and Sheryl had for her. But she was used to it; it was better than most names she’d been called by the popular ones in high school. She looked at the ground, not really knowing what to say. But Michael knew, he knew all too well and spoke up.

  “I’m Michaelia’s boyfriend. In the military, so only in town for the day. I’m Michael and you are?”

  Tracie looked visibly shaken from what Michael said. She turned to Sheryl, both trying to keep their surprised looks under control. “Tracie and this is Sheryl. Didn’t Mickey tell you all about us? We’re besties at work. Seems Mickey has been holding out on us.” Tracie’s sarcastic voice died out as Sheryl gave her a look, leaning in to whisper in Tracie’s ear.

  “Michaelia and I don’t have much time to talk about trivial matters. We don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like. So, the time is spent with just us. I’m sure you can understand as I see you are engaged. Quality time with your fiancé is to be cherished, true?”

  Michaelia looked up at Michael, that special feeling growing. To have someone who actually defended her. Not even her parents defended her. They never even bothered to lie to her and tell her she was pretty. Not her pragmatic, unemotional parents.

  Tracie put up her hand, the enormous rock on her hand sparkling in the sunlight. “Well yes, I guess I can. Have you two tried the elephant ears booth? I’m certain Mickey would love to have her fingers on an order or three. Good stuff, huh Mickey?”

  Michaelia noticed Sheryl lowering the zipper on her hoodie. She sidled up to Michael, giving him a show while twirling a strand of hair. She stared down at her dusty shoes, knowing exactly what Sheryl was up to, knowing that no man could resist her ample assets accentuated with a tiny waist. “So only in town for a day, huh? I’m sure we could find a party to go to. Tracie’s fiancé is in a band.”

  Michael stepped back, pulling Michaelia back with him so her back was against his chest. Placing his arms around her, he responded to Sheryl. “If MICHAELIA wants, but we normally like to hang out together. What do you think babe?” He knew all about these types of females; wild animals had nothing on these two; these two would hunt down their prey, pick it apart, leave the bones for the carrion if allowed to. Superficial, fake, cruel excuses for human beings.

  “A quiet night at home sounds wonderful.” Michaelia leaned back into his embrace, the feeling of his arms around her giving a sense of security she’d never had in her life.

  Michael kissed Michaelia’s cheek, showing both of these women that he was taken. “I think we were just on our way to the popping balloons booth; I promised I win Michaelia a stuffed animal to add to her collection. I bring her one from everywhere I’m stationed.” Michael turned to Michaelia. “Babe, food or want to watch me and my superb hand-eye coordination?” He wanted there to be no question; Michaelia was his, he had eyes only for her. The pity he had felt melted away; he could now see the golden truth, the goddess within her, the beauty that no one had bothered to look for. And looking at her two supposed “friends”; all he could see was nastiness, ugly disguised in a pretty shell. A sense of possessiveness came over him and he held her closer.

  Michaelia finally found her voice. “I’d like to get that stuffed animal if you don’t mind. Not really hungry right now.” She beamed up at him, their eyes caught and a warmth she’d never felt before flowed through her body.

  Michael started to lead them down toward the games. “It was a pleasure meeting you two. If we have time, I’ll have Michaelia tell me all about you.” He knew he shouldn’t, he knew the Elders would frown upon his ungentlemanly demeanor, but it felt good to leave those two in the dust, the hot, humid, smelly dust.

  And that was it, they walked off leaving Tracie and Sheryl standing there with their mouths agape.

  * * * * *

  Being a Guardian, winning tons of gifts for Michaelia wasn’t that difficult, seeing through the ruses being used. And with each stuffed animal, with each little cheap souvenir, Michael felt her coming out of her shell, felt the love and beauty emanate from her. Through it all he kept a tight grip on her hand, knowing full well she’d never experienced being held onto in public. But there was still that hesitancy coming from her, a resistance. He realized that even after the run-in with Tracie and Sheryl, she was waiting for him to drop her hand, walk away, head for the nearest bleach-bottle blonde. As they left the ice cream booth, an opportunity arose for him to make his move, seal the experience for her.

  “Umf.” A little boy had come careening
around the corner and slammed right into Michaelia, the ice cream cone hitting the side of her face. The humiliation of standing there in public with ice cream on her chubby cheeks was a little more than she could take. It had taken every ounce of will-power she had to order the damn thing, now … she wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. People were looking at her, staring, wondering what this pig of a creature with chocolate ice cream on her face was doing with such a fine specimen of masculinity.

  “Here, let me get that.” Michael quickly produced some napkins, gently wiping her face, keeping his eyes on her. “Kid needs to look where he’s going.” Once the ice cream was gone, he kissed her cheek, softly, almost chaste, but enough to show the world he was more than a relative or friend.

  “Uh, thank you.” Michaelia was quite taken aback with his kiss. Okay, kisses on the cheek weren’t exactly romantic, plenty of aunts and grandmas loved the kiss on the cheek, along with a pinch or two, but this was … different. He had taken his time to clean off the ice cream, staying close, a hand on her hip as the ice cream was disposed of. So this is what it feels like to be taken care of. It was a foreign feeling to her.

  They spend the entire day at the carnival, at the end of the day, his car full of the fruits of his winnings. It was nearly sunset when they left the carnival, both smiling, laughing.

  Arriving home, Michaelia dumped all her wonderful carnival winnings onto her dining room table. Never had she seen so much cheap chotchkies that meant so much to her. She turned, finding Michael right behind her, her eyes staring at his wonderfully sculpted chest.

  “Oh, um, thank you again. It was a wonderful day. You have no idea.” She was getting a little nervous with him so close to her.

  “The day’s not over yet.” Michael put his finger underneath her chin. “May I kiss you?” He’d been wanting to claim those lips for hours now. The kiss on the cheek just hadn’t been enough.

  She swallowed … and again. Other than a few drunken gropes in college, she’d never been really kissed. Would she know how? Would she be any good at it? Against her instincts, she nodded. Michael’s face came closer and she had to close her eyes. Soft lips brushed hers and the world stopped, her heart beat wildly. All too soon it was over and he stepped back.

  “Now, go get dressed, we’re going out on the town tonight, dinner and dancing.”

  Michaelia opened her eyes and came back to reality. “What? Huh? Oh, um, I don’t have anything like that to wear. Not really built for dresses, more of a linebacker if you haven’t noticed.”

  Michael gestured with his head to the bedroom. “There’s a dress, perfect for you, just waiting for you to wear it.”

  “A dress? What…?” Michaelia stepped back even farther. “I don’t, I can’t … you’ve given me so much today. And believe me, no matter what the dress is, it’s going to look like a potato sack on me.”

  “Trust me? You will love it. I guarantee it’s going to look beautiful on you.”

  She raised her eyebrow, knowing full well that the dress was going to be horrible. She owned exactly one black dress, for funerals. Her chunky legs suck out of the straight hemline like two ham hocks. No, dresses were for women who had waists, not one who’s waist size was about the same as her hips.

  “Please? Please, try it on. You don’t like it, we’ll get something else. No matter what, I am going to show you off tonight.”

  Admitting defeat, Michaelia nodded and headed back to her bedroom, seeing a beautiful red dress laying on the bed. “Where … How?” She was getting pretty impressed with his talents.

  Michael appeared in the bedroom doorway. “It’s a gift. Why don’t you take a shower, put the dress on, I’ll take Bodie for a walk and change myself. Dinner at Vincent’s?”

  “Vincent’s?! God, that is like the most expensive place in the city! It’s way too much …”

  Michael put his finger to her lips. “Nothing is too anything for you today. Get dressed, I’ll be right back.”

  Michaelia nodded and headed toward the shower. She looked at her naked body in the mirror, wondering … how could he want this? How could he not be disgusted by this? She certainly was. She had been on diet after diet after diet, losing weight, gaining it back. Nothing had worked … she had been born fat, was fat in grade school, junior high, high school, college. The image of her school dances swarmed her … always watching from the sidelines, while all her friends paired up, even the friends she came to the dance with. Permanently the third wheel. Now she was going out to dinner with … well someone who probably was a Greek God. What the hell? She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, remembering this was only for 24 hours. At 6am tomorrow, he would be gone. At least he had given her an out; she could always claim he was killed in action and that was the reason he never came around anymore. She was grateful for that. At least she never had to say she’d been dumped.

  The hot water felt good; she pushed away the negative thoughts as she washed herself, her rolls of fat that were so disgusting. She leaned against the tiled walls … she’d seen those much fatter than herself get married, obviously have sex as they have children … how do they and their partners get past the disgusting fat? How do they … do it? How can anyone kiss such a fat person? Michaelia put her fingers up to her lips, remembering the soft kiss Michael gave her. How was she not … repulsive? She took a deep breath, finished her shower and went out to the bedroom to look at the dress.

  It was red, with a low plunging neck, showing off lots of cleavage. However, she knew how she was going to look … her fat dumpy legs and jello arms sticking out of such beautiful fabric … but at least she’d be with Michael … for a few more hours at least. She wondered what would happen at the end of the dinner … would he leave early? Maybe crash on her couch? Maybe they could talk all night. That would be nice. Share coffee, maybe another kiss. Yes, very nice. She put the dress on, did her hair the best it would cooperate, but on some makeup … damn, even got the eye shadow out and the lipstick. She had no clue what she was doing, but she looked a little better, maybe a little sexy with some makeup. She wanted to at least look a bit of the part of a sophisticated woman going out to dinner and dancing.

  She walked back to the living room to see Michael dressed in a very nice, very tailored black suit. If he looked good in a tee and jeans … damn. James Bond had NOTHING on him.

  “Wow, you look nice.”

  Michael looked her up and down. “So do you. Very pretty.”

  “Thanks but I know I don’t do dresses very well.”

  “I think you look beautiful.”

  Michaelia blushed. No one had ever said that to her before.

  “Cute. I like when a woman blushes. Means she’s not all egotistical. Shall we go?” Michael extended his hand once again.

  It was becoming second nature for Michaelia to clasp her hand with his. It felt so natural. As was him opening the doors for her, him guiding her, putting his hand to her lower back to help her up a curb … it was all … romantic. As was the single red rose waiting in the car for her. Yep, Prince Charming was a slacker compared to him.

  * * * * *

  Vincent’s was magnificent. Michael had ordered for them, prime rib, potatoes, homemade rolls… and chocolate truffle cake for dessert. And Michaelia ate everything, no reservations. They talked, they danced… Michaelia hadn’t danced with anyone ever… well, with her brother-in-law at his and her sister’s wedding, but that didn’t. She thought she’d trip over her own feet, but she didn’t, she found the graceful woman who had been buried deep inside her. They danced, drank martinis, talked, until Vincent’s closed. And the night was over. All too soon, Michaelia found herself back home, her dreary one-bedroom apartment. She looked up at Michael who was still standing in the building’s hallway.

  “Um, would you like some coffee, maybe talk for a bit.” Michaelia looked at her watch. “There’s still a few hours until… until 6.”

  Michael stepped into the doorway, putting one had at her waist, another cupping her ch
eek. “I’d like to kiss you again.”

  Not able to find her words, she leaned into him and their lips met, another soft kiss until … she jumped back when she felt his tongue against her lips.

  “I’m sorry, did I do something you don’t like?”

  Michaelia kept her distance. “I’m sorry, I don’t have any … I’ve never been … No one’s ever wanted to kiss me like that and I don’t know how to react.”

  Michael smiled. “May I teach you? May I have the honor of being your first?”

  Michaelia blushed again. “What do I do?”

  Michael stepped in close, this time, both hands on her face. “Just do what feels natural. If you don’t like something, step back a little. We can try again.”

  Michaelia nodded and Michael placed his lips on hers, adding a little pressure, his tongue coming out. She parted her lips, and felt his soft tongue invade her mouth. Her tongue met his and it was like she was a master at kissing. She melted into him, putting her arms around his neck as his hands moved from her face to her neck, cradling her head.

  After long minutes, they both came up for air. Michaelia opened her eyes, a little breathless.

  “That was very… nice. More than I ever expected, more than I ever thought it would be.”

  “Do you wish to go further? Or shall we stay here in the living room?”

  Michaelia’s heart beat wildly, she could hear her pulse in her ears. Was he actually asking what she thought he was asking? She looked down at herself, at the fat that was being trapped by a beautiful dress for the moment. Could she … could she actually let another person see her … like that?