Prose

Angel Love ***
As yet, Untitled ***
Butterfly ***
Princess in Shining Armour ***
Smelling the Renegade Roses

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Chapter One

Raindrops patter on my windshield. My windows are rolled up and the air conditioner battles against the heavy August air. My gas gage hovers just above empty on a deserted Virginia back road. Headlights from the occasional oncoming car hurt my eyes. A wolf howls somewhere off to my right. A rabbit skirts across the road in front of me, momentarily freezing in the twin beams of yellow light preceding me.

I stop at a gas station/convenience store in the middle of a town with a population of about three. It's only five after eight in the evening and yet there is no one on any of the porches or sidewalks. A mesh bag flutters in the breeze, floating an inch above the pavement as the welcome bit of cool air moves it, making it seem more like a wayward spirit. So quiet, this town, so still. The few lighted windows cast an eerie light on the road, bits of glass on the road sparkle like demented eyes in the dim light.

I use my bank card to buy my gas before driving off to find someplace to stop for a short rest. I find a park not far ahead, and drive around looking for a spot concealed by trees. Before I go to sleep, I call her.

Her phone rings twice before she picks it up. "Hello?" She asks anxiously.

"Hey, it's me," I say.

"Hey! You had me worried sick. When will you be here?"

"Tomorrow morning. I had to stop to sleep a little."

"Alright. I'll leave a key under the mat so you can get in if I'm still asleep."

"I'll see you tomorrow, then. G'night."

" 'Night."

I sleep until seven the next morning. Longer than I usually do, but I don't usually stay up for over forty-eight hours, either. I drove the last two hours to her apartment, thinking I could have made it the night before. I find the key and let myself in even though I know she's awake by now. I hear water running and investigate the kitchen. No one. She must be in the shower, then. I go back out to my car and drag in my suitase and garment bag. The water's been shut off and as I head down the hall to her guest room, she steps from the bathroom, draped in a towel.

I stare a moment before I stammer out numerous apologies and shut my eyes. I hear a door close and she calls out that it's alright now.

I open my eyes and hurry down the hall to my room. I hang my bag in the closet and begin to unpack my suitcase. I feel her hovering in the doorway. "I'm sorry," I say as I turn around, "I didn't mean to stare, I just-"

"I know," She cut me off. "I probably would have reacted the same."

She walks to the closet and unzips my bag and the emerald satin of my gown shimmers where the light touches it.

"What? No tux?" She jokes.

I grin. "Nope. Not this time."

"Green looks delightful on you."

"Thank you," I blush, then remember the question that has denied me sleep for the past two weeks. "Why?"

She looks at me. "Why what?"

"Why me?"

She glances down at the floor then back at me. There is sadness in her eyes, and love, and maybe it's my imagination, but - regret?

She takes two steps toward me. As if in a trance, I close the remaining foot separating us. We reach for each other in the same instant, arms tangling around waists, lips touching tentatively at first, but soon with more surety.

"That's why," she gasps when we break apart. "Because being near you, even thinking about you, is like - like trying to breathe in New York City: you do your damndest not to because it's poison to your body, but you do because you can't live without it." She pauses. "Why did you say you would?"

"Because I wanted to hold you in my arms one last time."

"Then... you're going to England to - to live?"

"No, I'm going to England to die."

She stares at me a moment in horror, before realizing I'm joking. "You twit," she smacks the side of my head as I grin. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

I only grin wider, and soon we're both giggling so hard, we fall backward onto my bed and onto each other. After we calm down and catch our breath, I sigh. "I do have kind of good news, and kind of bad news. I didn't tell you before because it's kind of something that has to be told in person."

She suddenly becomes serious, "Bad news first."

"Ok... Ummm... So, about three months ago, I told you I had a little 'accident'?" She nods. "Well, it wasn't an accident so much as it was ummm. Well, I was raped." Fear springs to her eyes as she pulls me to her. "I'm fine, I'm just, well, pregnant."

She looks deep into my eyes and demands, "The baby's alright, though, right?"

"As healthy as an ox."

She nods, then grins as she places her hand on my already-rounding stomach. "You have a bump! Ooooh, what are the names?"

"Adrienne Moriah and Ian Shane."

"So, you're going to raise him, or her, in England?" I nodded. "Away from me?"

"Oh, don't worry, they'll be back to see their Auntie."

"That just sounds kind of wrong since we were lovers once."

"Well, what would you like them to call you?"

She grimaces. "I gave away the right to be called that long ago."

I suddenly understand. How many years has it been since she ended our engagement? Five? Yes, on our anniversary of all days... Wait a tick. I look at my watch. Today's the... Good Lord! "That's why you asked me to come either yesterday or today, isn't it?" She glances down, and nods slightly. "I don't... I don't know what to say, or do. I mean, five years..."

For several moments, we sit on the bed in silence, staring at our own hands. I sigh and reach out to hold one of her hands. "Are you still in love with me?" She nods, again without looking up. I pull my pack of Salems from my pocket, and chew on the end of a cigarette a few moments before tossing it in the trash.

"How long have you smoked?"

Shit! "A few years. Usually just when I'm nervous, or thinking hard, or something like that."

To Be Continued...