by Tillie Cole
“Go where?” I asked.
“It’s a surprise,” Rune announced from beside me.
Daddy stepped an inch back and met my eyes. “Poppy, your white blood cell levels have dropped. It means the chance of infection is high. With your immune system being at risk, I don’t think you should travel on a plane—”
“A plane?” I interrupted.
I looked up at Rune. “A plane?” I repeated.
He curtly nodded his head once, but didn’t explain any further.
Mama placed her hand on my arm “I asked your specialist and he said,”—she cleared her throat—“he said, at this point in your illness, if you want to go, then you should go.” I heard the underlying current of her words. Go before it got too late to travel anywhere.
“I want to go,” I said with unwavering certainty, gripping onto Rune’s waist. I wanted him to know I wanted this. I glanced up at him; he met my eyes. Smiling, I said, “I’m with you.”
Rune, surprising me, but at the same time not surprising me at all, kissed me. Kissed me hard and quick right in front of my family. Rune broke free from me and moved next to my aunt. Beside DeeDee there was a suitcase. Without another word, he took the suitcase to the car.
My heart was beating a staccato rhythm of excitement.
Daddy squeezed my hand. His touch brought me back to his worry, his fear. “Poppy,” he said sternly.
Before he could say any more, I leaned forward and kissed him on his cheek. I looked him in the eye. “Daddy, I understand the risks. I’ve been fighting this a long time. I know you’re worried. I know you don’t want me to be hurt. But staying trapped in my room like a caged bird for one more day … that is what will hurt me. I’ve never been one to stay inside. I want this, Daddy. I need this.” I shook my head, feeling a sheer sheen of water fill my eyes. “I can’t spend whatever time I have left locked away for fear it’ll make me worse. I need to live … I need this adventure.”
He sucked in a stuttering breath. But, eventually, he nodded his head. A light dizziness flooded through me. I was going!
Jumping on the spot, I wrapped my arms around my daddy’s neck. He hugged me back.
I kissed my mama then looked to my aunt. She had her hand held out. I took hold of it, just as my daddy said, “I’m trusting you to look after her, DeeDee.”
My aunt sighed. “You know this girl is my heart, James. You think I’d let anything happen to her?”
“And they stay in separate rooms!”
I simply rolled my eyes at that.
My daddy began talking to my aunt. But I didn’t hear it. I didn’t hear anything as my gaze went through the open door, and down to the boy dressed all in black who was leaning against the railing of our porch. The boy in a leather jacket who was casually bringing a cigarette to his mouth, all the time watching me. His crystal-blue eyes not once straying from mine.
Rune blew out a cloud of smoke. Casually tossing the butt to the ground, he flicked his chin and held out his hand.
Releasing Aunt DeeDee’s hand, I closed my eyes for a brief moment, committing to memory how he looked, right at this moment.
My Norwegian bad boy.
My heart.
Opening my eyes, I rushed through the door. Reaching the top step, I then jumped into Rune’s open arms. He enveloped me in his embrace. I giggled, feeling the breeze on my face. Holding me tightly, my feet still off the ground, Rune asked, “You ready for that adventure, Poppymin?”
“Yes,” I replied breathlessly.
Rune pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes. “I love you,” he whispered after a long pause.
“I love you too,” I said, just as quietly.
I was rewarded with a rare smile.
He carefully lowered me to the ground, took my hand and asked again, “You ready?”
I nodded, then turned to my parents, who were standing on the porch. I waved goodbye.
“Come on, kids,” said DeeDee. “We got a flight to catch.”
Rune led me to the car, holding my hand as always. As we settled in the backseat, I looked out the window as we pulled away. I stared up at the clouds, knowing that soon I’d be soaring above them.
On an adventure.
An adventure with my Rune.
* * *
“New York,” I said breathlessly, reading the screen at our gate.
Rune smirked. “We always planned to go. It’ll just be briefer than we’d always thought.”
Completely speechless, I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. Aunt DeeDee returned from speaking to the woman at the desk.
“Come on, you two,” she said, waving her hand toward the entrance to the plane. “Let’s get you onboard.”
We followed DeeDee. My mouth fell open when she showed us to the two front seats in first class. I looked at her and she shrugged. “What’s the point of being in charge of the first-class cabin if I can’t use the perks to spoil my favorite niece?”
I hugged DeeDee. She held on a little longer than normal. “Go on, now,” she said and shooed me to my seat. Aunt DeeDee quickly disappeared behind the curtain of the attendants’ section. I stood, watching her go. Rune took my hand.
“She’ll be okay,” he soothed, then pointed to the window seat. “For you,” he added. Unable to stop the excited giggle leaping from my throat, I sat down and stared out of the window at the people working on the ground below.
I watched them until the plane was fully boarded and we began to roll away. Sighing happily, I turned to Rune, who was watching me. Wrapping his fingers in mine, I said, “Thank you.”
“I wanted you to see New York.” He shrugged. “I wanted to see it with you.”
Rune leaned in to kiss me. I stopped his lips with my fingers. “Kiss me at thirty-nine thousand feet. Kiss me in the sky. Kiss me amongst the clouds.”
Rune’s minty breath ghosted over my face. Then he silently sat back. I laughed as the plane suddenly gained speed and we soared into the air.
When the plane leveled off, I suddenly found my lips being brought flush to Rune’s. His hands clasped my head as he took my mouth with his own. Needing something to keep me grounded, I gripped onto his shirt. I sighed against his mouth as his tongue dueled softly against mine.
When he pulled back, his chest heaving and skin warm, I whispered, “Kiss eight hundred and eight. At thirty-nine thousand feet. With my Rune … my heart almost burst.”
By the end of the flight I had lots of new kisses to add to my jar.
* * *
“This is for us?” I asked incredulously. I stared at the penthouse of the ridiculously expensive hotel in Manhattan my aunt had brought us to.
I looked up at Rune and I could tell, even through his ever-neutral expression, that he too was floored.
Aunt DeeDee stopped beside me. “Poppy, your mama doesn’t know this yet. But well, I’ve been dating someone for a while now.” A loving smile spread on her lips and she continued. “Let’s just say this room was his gift to you both.”
I stared up at her in amazement. But then a warmth filled me. I had always worried about Aunt DeeDee. She was on her own often. I could see in her face how happy this man had made her.
“He paid for this? For us? For me?” I asked.
DeeDee paused, then explained, “Technically, he doesn’t really have to pay for it. He owns the joint.”
My mouth, if possible, dropped further, until Rune playfully shut it with his finger under my chin. I stared at my boyfriend. “You knew?”
He shrugged. “She helped me plan all this.”
“So you knew?” I repeated. Rune shook his head at me, then carried our cases into the master bedroom to the right. He was clearly ignoring my daddy’s instruction of separate rooms.
As Rune disappeared through the doorway, my aunt said, “That boy would walk on broken glass for you, Pops.”
My heart filled with light. “I know,” I whispered. But that slight edge of fear I had begun to fe
el seeped into me.
Aunt DeeDee’s arm slipped around me. As I squeezed her back, I said, “Thank you.”
She kissed my head. “I didn’t do anything, Pops. It was all Rune.” She paused. “I don’t think, in all my life, that I’ve ever seen two kids love each other so hard so young, and even harder as teens.”
Aunt DeeDee pulled me back to meet my eyes. “Cherish this time with him, Pops. That boy, he loves you. You’d have to be blind to not see it.”
“I will,” I whispered.
DeeDee moved to the door. “We’re here for two nights. I’ll be with Tristan in his suite. Call my cell if you need anything. I’ll only be minutes away.”
“Okay,” I replied.
Turning, I drank in the splendor of the room. Its ceilings were so high that I had to bend my head back just to see the pattern in the white plaster. The room was so big that it would dwarf most people’s houses. I walked to the window and beheld a panoramic view of all of New York.
And I breathed.
I breathed as my gaze fell upon the familiar sights that I had only ever seen in pictures or on film: the Empire State Building, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the Flatiron Building, Freedom Tower…
There was so much to see that my heart raced in anticipation. This was where I was meant to have lived my life. I would have been at home here. Blossom Grove would have been my roots; New York would have been my wings.
And Rune Kristiansen would forever have been my love. By my side through it all.
Noticing a door to my left, I walked over and pushed down the handle. I gasped as a cold breeze hit me, then I truly let myself take in the sight.
A garden.
An outdoor terrace with winter flowers, benches and, better still, the view. Zipping up my coat to keep warm, I stepped out into the coldness. Flurries of light snowflakes settled on my hair. Needing to feel them on my face, I tipped my head back. Cold flakes landed on my eyelashes, tickling my eyes.
I laughed as my face grew damp. Then I walked forward, running my hands over the glistening evergreens until I was standing at the wall that offered a panorama of Manhattan on a plate.
I breathed in, letting the cold air fill my bones. Suddenly, warm arms were around my waist and Rune’s chin rested on my shoulder. “You like it, baby?” Rune asked softly. His voice was barely above a whisper so as not to intrude into our little haven of tranquility.
I shook my head in disbelief and turned back slightly until I faced him. “I can’t believe you’ve done all this,” I replied. “I can’t believe you’ve given me this.” I pointed to the sprawling city below. “You’ve given me New York.”
Rune kissed my cheek. “It’s late, and we have lots to do tomorrow. I want to make sure you’re rested enough to see everything I have planned.”
A thought sprang into my mind. “Rune?”
“Ja?”
“Can I take you somewhere tomorrow too?”
He frowned, creasing his forehead. “Of course,” he agreed. I could see him searching my eyes, trying to discover what I was up to. But he didn’t question me. And I was happy about that. He’d refuse if he knew ahead of time.
“Good,” I said proudly and smiled to myself. Yes, he had given me this trip. Yes, he had things planned. But I wanted to show him something, to remind him of his dreams. Dreams he could still achieve even after I was gone.
“You need to sleep, Poppymin,” Rune said and lowered his mouth to kiss my neck.
I threaded my hand through his. “With you beside me in bed.”
I felt him nod against my neck, before kissing it one more time. “I’ve run you a bath and I’ve ordered food. You bathe, then we’ll eat, then we’ll sleep.”
I turned in his arms and lifted onto my tiptoes to place my hands on his cheeks. They were cold. “I love you, Rune,” I said softly. I said it often. And I always felt it with my whole heart. I wanted him to know, at all times, how much I adored him.
Rune sighed, and kissed me slowly. “I love you too, Poppymin,” he said against my lips, barely breaking away.
Then he led me inside where I bathed. We ate. And then we slept.
I lay in his arms in the center of a huge four-poster bed. With his warm breath drifting across my face. His bright blue eyes watching my every move.
I fell asleep, cradled in his embrace, with a smile both in my heart and on my lips.
Poppy
I thought I had felt a breeze through my hair before. But nothing compared to the breeze that whipped through my tresses at the top of the Empire State Building.
I thought I’d been kissed in every way there was to be kissed. But nothing compared to Rune’s kisses under the fairy-tale castle in Central Park. To his kiss in the crown of the Statue of Liberty. In the center of Times Square, the bright lights flashing as people rushed around us like they had no time left in the world.
People were always rushing even though they had plenty of time. Although I had very little, I made sure everything I did was slow. Measured. Meaningful. I made sure to savor any new experience. To take a deep breath and drink in every new sight, smell and sound.
To simply stop. Breathe. Embrace.
Rune’s kisses varied. They were slow and soft, gentle and feather-light. Then they were hard, fast and ravishing. Both left me breathless. Both made it into the jar.
More kisses sewn onto my heart.
After eating a late lunch at the Stardust Diner, somewhere I decided may just be my third-favorite place on Earth, I led Rune outside and around the corner.
“Is it my turn now?” I asked, as Rune took hold of my collar and pulled it close around my neck. Rune checked his watch. I eyed him curiously, wondering why he kept checking the time. Rune saw me watching him in suspicion.
Wrapping his arms around me, he replied, “You have the next couple of hours, then it’s back to my schedule.”
I scrunched my nose at his strict attitude and playfully stuck out my tongue. Heat flared in Rune’s eyes as I did. He dived forward and pressed his mouth to my lips, his tongue immediately stroking against mine. I squealed and held on tight as he dipped me back, before breaking the kiss.
“Don’t tempt me,” he said teasingly. But I still saw that heat in his eyes. My heart skipped a beat. Since Rune had been back in my life, we had done nothing more than kiss. Kiss and talk, and hold each other so impossibly close. He never pushed for more, but as the weeks had rolled on, I had begun to want to give myself to him again.
Memories of our night, two years ago, ran like a show reel in my mind. The scenes were so vivid, so filled with love, that my lungs seized. Because I still remembered that look in his eyes when he moved above me. I still remembered the way his eyes watched mine. The way heat flooded through me as I felt him, so warm, in my arms.
And I remembered his gentle touches on my face, my hair and my lips. But best of all, I remembered his face in the afterglow. The incomparable expression of adoration. The look that told me that, though we were young, what we had done had changed us forever.
Joined us in body, mind and soul.
Truly made us infinity.
Forever always.
“Where are we going, Poppymin?” Rune asked, pulling me from my reverie. He held the back of his hand against my burning cheek. “You’re hot,” he said, his accent strong, the perfect sound running through me like a cool breeze.
“I’m fine,” I said coyly. Taking his hand, I tried to lead him down the street. Rune pulled on my hand and made me face his concern head on.
“Poppy—”
“I’m fine,” I interrupted, pursing my lips so he would know I meant it.
Groaning in exasperation, Rune slung his arm around my shoulder and led me forward. I searched for the street name and block, working out where to go from here.
“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing?” Rune asked.
Ensuring we were heading in the right direction, I shook my head. Rune pressed a kiss to the side of my head as he
lit up a cigarette. As he smoked, I took the opportunity to look around me. I loved New York. I loved everything about it. Eclectic people—artists, suits and dreamers—all woven into the giant patchwork quilt of life. The busy streets, car horns and shouts the perfect symphonic soundtrack to the city that never sleeps.
I breathed in the fresh scent of snow on the cold crisp air and hugged closer into Rune’s chest. “We would do this,” I said and smiled, briefly closing my eyes.
“What?” Rune asked, the now-familiar scent of his cigarette smoke billowing before us.
“This,” I said, “Us, walking down Broadway. We would walk the city, heading to meet friends, to our schools or our apartment.” I nudged his arm over my shoulder. “You would hold me just like this and we would talk. You’d tell me about your day and I’d tell you about mine.” I smiled at the normalcy of the picture. Because I didn’t need grand gestures or fairy tales; a normal life with the boy I loved would have always been enough.
Even in this moment, it was worth everything.
Rune didn’t say anything. I had learned that when I spoke like this, so candidly about things that would never come to pass, Rune found it best to say nothing at all. And it was okay. I understood why he had to protect his already-breaking heart.
If I could protect it for him I would, but I was the cause.
I just prayed, to all that was good, that I could also be the remedy.
Seeing the banner on the old building, I looked up at Rune and said, “We’re nearly there.”
Rune looked around in confusion, and I was glad. I didn’t want him to see where we were. I didn’t want him to be angry at a gesture kindly meant. I didn’t want him to hurt at being forced to see the future that could be his.
I steered Rune left toward a building. Rune threw his finished cigarette to the ground and took my hand in his. Walking to the register, I asked for our tickets.
Rune pushed my hand from my purse when I tried to pay. He paid, not yet knowing where we were. I reached up and kissed him on the cheek. “Such a gentleman,” I teased, and watched as he rolled his eyes.
