With Love

by Shawnte Borris

  “Just a moment, please,” Julia said to the other person on the phone. “Ally, I’m glad you’re staying at the cottage. Daddy, can you stop by Luke’s office on the way out and hand him this file, please?”

  “Sure, baby girl.”

  You could have knocked me over with a feather.

  How did I forget about Luke? He’s a part of this family; he’s the one that found me. I was about to pull away from George’s hand when he gave me a reassuring grasp. On the way to Luke’s office, I kept thinking What am I going to say? Oh well, at least I am wearing pants this time.

  We stepped inside another office, and Luke was not there. I couldn’t help but feel relieved.

  ***

  “Luke, slow down on that treadmill. It’ll fall apart if you keep hammering it like that with your feet,” said Brian, Luke’s best friend.

  “What? Oh yeah, I guess it’s time for a cool-down walk, huh?”

  “Ya think?” Brian chuckled to himself. “Tough afternoon at the office?

  “No. Work was fine. Actually, I kinda left early today.”

  “Why? Is there something wrong with the Gala?” Brian asked, throwing Luke a water bottle.

  “No,” Luke responded in a rough tone.

  “Spit it out. What’s up? And, as you tell me, make yourself useful and come spot me on the bench.”

  ***

  The drive to the cottage was peaceful. George talked about his company and what they did. He also talked more about fishing and holidays with his family. As I was listening, I couldn’t help but feel like George and I were lost friends. Even though I don’t know him from Adam, I still feel like he is a close friend.

  “As you know, Luke is my eldest. He looks like Helen with his dark hair and blue eyes. He gets his height from me, and his work ethic is unbeatable, but he also gets his warmth from his mother. Luke is quiet, focused, and in love with life. If I ever need anything, I know that Luke would be there in a heartbeat. Luke was close to his mom. It really threw Luke when she passed.”

  I just stared at George with deeply sad eyes. I placed my hand on his and kept listening.

  “Julia, as you know, is newly married. She is my beautiful middle child. She does not work for the company, but she is in completely in charge of the Gala. My wife would have wanted it that way. How could she not? Rarely does anyone say no to her, in case you haven’t noticed. She reminds me of Helen sometimes when she laughs. I can still hear her. Julia and her husband, Kyle, live in the city, but if I know Julia, it won’t be long before they move closer to the cottage.”

  I wonder how Helen died.

  “Then, there is my wonderful and carefree daughter, Kristen. She’s still in high school and almost ready to graduate.”

  I gave George a funny look.

  “I know. She’s the ‘oops’ child—not that we would ever tell her that. That girl is the apple of my eye. She has spunk like there is no tomorrow. She is definitely my child. Kristen has dark hair like Luke and is athletic. You’ll get along great.”

  “George, in case I haven’t told you, thank you.”

  I wanted to say more than that. I wanted to thank him for sharing his family with me, but words failed me. Somehow I thought George knew what I was trying to say.

  ***

  “Well, well, well. The almighty Luke has a high-school crush!” Brian teased, laughing.

  “Shut up, Brian,” Luke said, playful shoving him into the lockers.

  “Any word on that house you put an offer on?”

  “No, not yet, Brian. I’m not expecting to hear anything until the end of the month. The owners are away on vacation and are unable to be reached right now.”

  “You know, Luke, if staying at the cottage is too much, you are more than welcome to stay with me.”

  “Thanks man, but for now, I think I’ll stay there. I don’t want Kristen to feel as if we’re all too busy for her after the funeral and all,” Luke said and then noticed the look on his friend’s face. “Brian, don’t give me that look. I know the funeral was more than a year ago. I also know she’s in high school and is hardly ever home. If Kristen is home, half the volleyball team is there, too.”

  “Well, in that case, maybe I should visit you more often, bro.” Brian said with a sly smile.

  “Dude, seriously? I don’t even know why I’m friends with you.”

  With a laugh, Brian said, “I do. You used to date my sister, asshole.”

  “Yeah, I did.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Once I unpacked and got settled in, I went downstairs to the kitchen.

  “Hello, I’m Ally.”

  “Hey, Ally, I’m Kristen. My dad said you’re the photographer and friends with Luke. I’m assuming that you’re staying in the guest bedroom.” She said with a smile, turning around digging in the fridge. “You eat meat, right? I mean, you’re not one of those organic salad-eating people, are you?”

  “Nope, I like the taste of chemicals,” I said with a laugh.

  “Any good at cooking? I don’t want to cook dinner.” Kristen looked at me, hopefully.

  “I’ve cooked a few meals in my day,” I replied while walking around the kitchen island, heading toward the fridge. “What have you got in there?”

  “Umm…it looks like some cut-up chunk meat. What do I do with that?”

  “Well, it depends. Do you have some potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery?”

  “Yeah,” Kristen said, pulling food out of the fridge.

  “Okay, grab those, and we’ll make stew. It’s quick, and you can throw it in the oven and walk away.”

  “Alright! My favorite kind of meal,” Kristen said with a first pump.

  Kirsten and I worked on dinner together, laughing and telling jokes.

  “Oh, I can beat that!” I said. “One time when I was in gym class, I was stretching and talking to this cute boy, and my bra popped open in the front. Talk about humiliation.”

  Wiping away a tear, Kristen laughed. “Oh my God, that’s so funny.”

  “What is that delicious smell? And what has you two in stitches?” asked George while walking into the kitchen. “I’m starving!” he continued, rubbing his stomach.

  “It’s stew, Dad! Ally-bug taught me how to make it. It’s a make-and-walk-away meal,” Kristen said excitedly.

  George looked at her curiously. “Ally-bug?”

  “Yeah?” I asked.

  “Oh, nothing.” George answered with a smile. “Would you like a drink?” He walked toward the fridge.

  “No thanks, George. I have one.”

  “So, Kristen, does this mean that most of our meals will be stew from now on?” he said with a chuckle.

  “Probably, Dad—except for pizza, burger, and meatloaf nights.” Kristen said with a shrug while heading upstairs. “I have an assignment for social studies that I am working on, and it’s kind of a big project due in a week and a half. Ally, can you call me when dinner is ready?”

  “Only if I get an extra scoop of ice cream?” I laughed.

  “Sure, if Luke hasn’t eaten it all.” Kristen said from the hallway.

  Suddenly, my carefree laughter stopped when I was reminded of Luke.

  “Hey, Alyson, are you okay?” George said with concern, even though he seemed to know what I was thinking.

  “What?” I asked, shaking my head. “Yes, I’m fine. I think I’ll set the table if that’s okay.”

  After dinner the three of us talked and laughed about everything. It’s easy to fit in with this family. It’s like eating dinner again with Sam and the kids. Oh, how I miss them. I excused myself and went to bed for the evening. Heading to my room, I could still hear Kristen and George talking.

  “Hey, Dad, why do you think Ally went to bed so quickly? I thought we were having a good time.”

  “Yeah, baby girl, we were.” George sounded sad. “She’s probably just tired.”

  ***

  After brushing my teeth, I lay in bed, thinking about how I took my beloved famil
y for granted—complaining about how tired I was, cleaning house, doing laundry, paying bills, running errands, attending PTA meetings and after-school activities, making meals, playing games together. Will I ever have that love again—that feeling of completeness? I asked myself while turning over in bed, cuddling the pillow and letting a few tears escape.

  Many hours later, I still couldn’t fall asleep. My mind was still going strong, thinking about my family and what I wanted to do next. I decided to get up and grab a warm glass of milk. Sam always brought me one when I couldn’t sleep.

  ***

  Luke rounded the corner into the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks, rubbing his eyes. While Ally was standing in front of the microwave waiting for her milk to warm, she was lightly tapping the spoon on her lips and casually rubbing her ankle with her other foot.

  He thought he was seeing things. But, no, he wasn’t. There was Ally and her bare legs standing in his dad’s kitchen. Luke walked up slowly behind her, drinking her and her legs in. Seriously, down boy!

  Just as the microwave beeped, Luke tapped Ally on the shoulder, causing her to jump and hit her knee on the knob of the bottom cabinet. He watched as instant tears came to her eyes. Without thinking, Luke picked Ally up, placed her on the counter, and took a look at her knee.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you again. Are you okay?”

  “Yes, it’s just one of those things that you hit a certain way and a sharp pain goes flying through you,” I whimpered while trying to rub my knee.

  “Let’s put some ice on that,” Luke said, turning around and then grabbing her warm milk from the microwave. He added vanilla with a smidge of sugar.

  He made it just the way I liked it.

  Then, he gave it to me with a light smile and headed toward the freezer for some ice.

  While I was sipping my milk, Luke came over with the ice and held it lightly on my knee. I felt his other hand run up and down my other leg, comforting me.

  “Are you wearing men’s boxer briefs?” he asked with curiosity.

  Ally looked up. “Yes, I think it’s the most comfortable thing to wear to bed—besides my hockey jersey,” I said, shrugging.

  With a light groan, Luke adjusted his pants. What the hell, Luke? Get a grip! It’s not like you haven’t seen a woman in shorts before.

  Casually, he took my hand and placed it on the bag of ice. “Good night, Ally, and sorry about you hitting your knee.” Then, he helped me off the counter.

  I watched Luke walk away. I was baffled, thinking of the warmth he left behind on my leg.

  ***

  Luke went to his room downstairs and took a long, cold shower.

  I haven’t been this hard since high school when I found half the girls volleyball team mostly naked in our pool. The cold water began to cramp his muscles, so Luke turned the water warmer and stood under the stream with one hand on the wall and the other around his arousal. He started pumping faster and faster as thoughts of Ally invaded his mind. Ally and those legs, standing in the kitchen—my kitchen. Why can’t I stop thinking about her? Her smile, the softness of her skin, her body writhing under my hands. Growling out Alyson’s name, he released his cum forcefully.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The next morning while everyone was getting ready, I headed downstairs and started breakfast.

  “Where is that smell coming from?” Kristen asked her dad in the hallway.

  “I think it’s coming from the kitchen; let’s go check it out!”

  When George and Kristen walked into the kitchen, I was just sliding eggs onto plates. “Good morning. I hope you don’t mind, George.”

  “Not at all Ally-bug,” said Kristen with a fork full heading toward her mouth.

  “Ally-bug?” Luke asked as he entered the kitchen.

  “Yeah,” Kristen said, looking at Luke. “Where is your suit, Luke? Are you not going into work today?”

  “Morning to you, too, kid.” Luke rubbed Kristen’s head. “Dad, I think I’ll go into the office this afternoon. I have a few things to take care of this morning.”

  “Not a problem, son. Grab some breakfast; it’s delicious,” George said, handing his son a plate and glancing between Luke and me with a smile.

  Luke stood behind me at the stove, waiting for his eggs. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear with a chuckle, “Morning, Ally-bug.”

  “How many eggs, Luke?” I asked in a clipped tone.

  “Two, please.” Luke gave me a funny look, probably wondering what was with the tone.

  Just as Luke was about to ask, Julia walked in with Kyle.

  “Good morning, everyone. Is that breakfast?” Julia looked at George and then at me.

  “Great! I’m starving,” said Kyle, grabbing a plate and walking toward me. “Hello, I’m Kyle, Julia’s husband. You must be Alyson. I’ve heard wonderful things about you. I also personally wanted to thank you for the beautiful pictures that you took of my stunning wife.”

  I looked at Kyle, feeling my cheeks blush. “Thank you. Here you go—two eggs.”

  “Hey, those were my eggs,” wallowed Luke.

  Everyone started laughing.

  Kyle looked at Luke. “I guess you should compliment the cook.”

  With that Kyle went to sit beside Kristen. “Hey kid, what you working on at school?”

  “I have this big social studies project due. It kinda fits in with the Gala actually.”

  “What do you mean?” Kyle asked.

  “Well, I need to go online and find a story from the past year that made the headline,” Kristen explained.

  “What kind of headline?” inquired Julia.

  “Well, I need to find a story about someone losing their loved one, family, or whatever to a drunk driver.”

  With that, I dropped the frying pan into the sink, making a big noise. Everyone at the table jumped.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. It slipped from my hand,” I said, still facing the sink.

  Luke walked toward me as I felt all of the color drain out of my face. Quietly, he asked, “Are you okay?”

  I looked up at him. “Yeah, it just startled me, that’s all.”

  I went back to listening to Kristen.

  “…then I need to write an interview piece on what that conversation would look like.”

  “Wow. I can’t imagine losing someone like that with no warning or anything. At least we had a chance to say goodbye to Mom, tell her how much we loved her, and show how grateful we were that she was ours,” said Julia. “I’m so thankful that Mom started this organization for people like that. I feel so privileged that we are able to help children that have lost their parents and that they can still continue their education without any worries.”

  Kyle put his arm around his wife and kissed her head.

  “Yes, I’m sure we all feel that way, Julia. Well, I’m off to work,” George said. “Want a ride to school, Kristen?”

  “Yes, please.” As Kristen got up, she looked at me. “Thanks for breakfast, Ally. Will you be around for dinner? We can make it together again.”

  “Sure, I’d like that.” Just as I was getting the last word out, Kristen gave me a big hug.

  “Laters,” Kristen called out, leaving with George to tackle the world.

  Kyle drank the last of his coffee. “I’m off, too. See you, yummy pants. I love you.”

  “Aww, thanks, man. I love you, too,” Luke replied, teasingly.

  “Hey, baby. Wait up. I forgot a folder in the car,” Julia said before holding hands with Kyle. “I’ll be right back, Ally.”

  “Geez. What is with the nicknames?” Luke said, looking at me and then quickly averted his eyes. “Alyson, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that we haven’t had a good morning like this since…well, since my mom died.” Luke strode over to me and took my hand. “Alyson, are you okay?”

  Luke stepped closer. He could now feel her breath on his. Trust me, Alyson. I’m right here, baby.

  Julia came
back into the kitchen. “Ally. I was thinking that since you’re here today we could walk the grounds, and you can get a feeling for your backdrop—or whatever you photographers call it.”

  Luke broke his gaze away from me and turned around, loading the dishwasher.

  “What do you think?” Julia continued.

  I looked at Julia like I was just got caught stealing something. “Sure, I’ll go fix my hair and grab my camera.”

  I could feel Luke watching me as I left the kitchen. On the way to my room, I could still hear their voices.

  “Umm…Luke?” Julia asked with interest.

  “Huh?”

  “What did I just walk into?”

  “Nothing,” he said, shaking his head.

  “It didn’t look like nothing.”

  “Drop it, Jules,” Luke growled.

  ***

  “Oh my gosh, Julia, it’s beautiful here. It’s like I’m walking into a magazine,” I admired.

  “If you think this is beautiful, wait until we go to the pond where the Gala will be held,” Julia exclaimed with a huge smile. “Can I tell you that I am very nervous? This will be the first time it will be held outside, but this was my mom and dad’s favorite spot to come and relax. I just wanted to be close to my mom, you know?”

  “I understand; how did she pass away?”

  Julia looked at me with sadness in her eyes. She took my hand like we had been sisters forever and kept on walking. “My mom had Stage Two, Grade Three ovarian cancer. Before we could start treatment, she died in her sleep. My dad went to make her breakfast, and when he went back to get her, she was already gone. My dad stayed with her for a long time before he called any of us. It was a good thing Kristen was over at a friend’s house.”

  I grabbed Julia for a hug. “Julia, I don’t even know what to say.”

  “There is nothing to say, Ally. Personally, I think it happened for the best. This way my mom didn’t suffer, and she didn’t have to watch us suffer with her.”

  We continued strolling toward the back of the property near the pond.

  “Besides my dad, of course, Luke took it the hardest.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Well, he was halfway across the country on business for my dad when Kristen called him. He left immediately, of course. But, Ally, a small part of him died that day. He sold his condo and moved back in with Dad to help keep an eye on Kristen. I think he stays because he feels awful that he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.”