A Lost Love

by Jennis Slaughter

  “You and your bacon...” Laurel chuckled before she took a bite from her sandwich.

  “Hey! I have great taste...I love you.” Alex tilted her head and gave her lover a silly grin.

  “And I love you too,” was Laurel’s quick reply.

  * * * * *

  After finishing their late lunch, they pulled on their shoes, grabbed the keys to Alex’s Nissan Xterra, and headed towards her home. The trip took about twenty minutes because they decided to stop for a scoop of ice cream on their way.

  By the time they arrived, it was close to six o’clock and as Alex turned the final curve up from her house, the women were shocked to see news vans and reporters surrounding the home. A couple of police cars were blocking access to the driveway and they were busy keeping the media off Alex’s lawn.

  Quickly, Alex reached into her back seat and grabbed a cap that Laurel had left once when they had gone to the Webster flea market. “Here, put this on. Don’t let them get a good shot of your face.”

  Laurel donned the cap, hunched down in her seat, and kept her eyes lowered. Alex pulled up to one of the police cars and lowered her window to speak to the officer. She explained that this was her home and she needed to pack some clothes. He nodded his understanding and asked that she wait just a moment and he would pull his car away just enough so that she could pull into her garage and shut the door behind them.

  Alex thanked him and told him if he would go around to the back door in about ten minutes, she would have sandwiches and something to drink for him and the other officers. He smiled and agreed.

  After pulling into the garage and closing the door behind them, Alex sighed as she turned off the car before turning to her lover. “I am so very sorry that I didn’t think about the media being here. I should know this. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She shook her head and softly swore to herself, “Shit!”

  Laurel reached over to grasp one of Alex’s hands. “Quit blaming yourself. This is so out of the norm that no one would think of this. Now, let’s just get inside, do what we need to do, and go home.”

  The younger woman agreed and they got out of the car. Unlocking the door that led to the kitchen, Alex walked in, tossing the keys on the nearest counter and toeing her sneakers off.

  “Why don’t I make the sandwiches and toss out the food that will go bad while we’re gone? You can pack what you’re going to take,” Laurel suggested.

  Grinning and shaking her head, Alex chuckled, “I love how resilient you are. With everything that happened, here you are taking charge while I’m starting to freak out. I don’t know how much longer I can do my job if I have to do what those vultures outside are doing. I won’t be able to live with myself.”

  Walking up to the taller woman, Laurel wrapped her arms around her lover’s waist and looked up into her cornflower blue eyes. “You do what you need to do to keep yourself happy and that will be good enough for me. I’ll support whatever decision you make.”

  Looking down into bright green eyes shining with the love Laurel had for her, Alex swallowed the sudden lump that appeared in her throat. Once she was able to control the emotion rolling through her, she whispered, “I love you,” before leaning down to give her a chaste kiss.

  They held each other for a few minutes until Laurel realized that one of the officers was going to be knocking on the back door pretty soon, expecting the sandwiches. Pulling away reluctantly, she patted Alex on the back, “You go do what you need to do and I’ll take care of this.”

  * * * * *

  With another quick kiss, Alex headed to her bedroom. She looked in the hall closet for a couple of suitcases and once she found them, she opened them up on her bed before heading into the master bath to gather her toiletry kit.

  Once that was done, she zipped up the bag and tossed it into a corner of one of the suitcases. Turning to her dresser, she pulled out panties with matching bras, running shorts, tank tops, jeans, t-shirts, and most importantly, a couple of swimsuits. Years of travelling for work had taught her how to pack smartly and soon all of those clothes were in the first case.

  The second case was for her nicer clothes. She was planning on making sure that Laurel had a relaxing and fun time while they were in Sanibel, but she also knew a couple of nice restaurants she wanted to take her to. Going over to the closet, she opened the louvered doors and stood in front of her clothes with her hands on her hips. Looking over her clothes, she decided on one pair of black, white, and red linen pants. Silk and linen shirts, and a red silk shirt dress, along with her shoes and favorite jacket finished up her wardrobe.

  She closed the case before she went over to her dresser to grab some jewelry. She put that in the first case and she was done with her clothes.

  Walking into her office next door, she swiftly backed up her files to her laptop, grabbed her digital camera, and packed them up in a backpack. Finished with that, she tossed it over one shoulder and headed back to the bedroom.

  As she lightly dropped the bag onto the bed, she happened to glance through the venetian blinds that covered the bedroom window, the window that looked out where Laurel had been buried. Alex froze. In her mind, the room dropped ten degrees and goosebumps sprang up all over her body. Her breath stuttered in her lungs and was shallow, as sweat broke out on her forehead.

  * * * * *

  Laurel didn’t waste any time making the sandwiches: prosciutto, roast beef, and sliced turkey soon became the protein of sandwiches with avocado, beefsteak tomatoes, spinach leaves and provolone cheese...all on Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls. Chilled bottles of water and a few bags of chips were also ready by the time that the officer announced himself.

  After giving him the food, Laurel asked if she filled up the garbage can and left it outside by the back door, if he would take it to the curb after his shift.

  “Not a problem, Ms. Taylor. We think we overheard that the media is going to try to follow you back to your place, so one of us will give you an escort home. You just follow my car. It might be the long way home, but by the time you get there, no one will be following you,” the officer explained.

  “Thank you for that. We really appreciate it, but there shouldn’t be a problem losing them once I get into my subdivision as it is gated and guarded. Thank you again for everything you did. We are so thankful that everything worked out the way it did. It could have ended up so much worse.” Laurel impulsively hugged him as he was holding the tray of food.

  “You two just take care of yourselves, that’s all I want.” The officer smiled and backed away to go up front.

  Laurel efficiently cleaned out the fridge, emptying it of food that would be going bad while they were gone, and carrying it to the garbage can next to the back door.

  Reporters shouted questions the instant the door opened wide enough to place the waste outside. Thankfully, Laurel couldn’t hear the questions...and she really didn’t want to. The next day was going to be hard to go through with the interview, but she knew she might as well get it over with.

  Wiping up the kitchen, she eventually placed a folded dish rag over the divider in the sink and went in search of Alex. It had been too long and too quiet, and that worried her.

  Walking through the quiet house, Laurel loved how Alex’s personality came out through her furniture. Simple lines, understated, with a punch of color every once in a while to keep things interesting.

  Finally, reaching the master bedroom, Laurel stopped at the doorway and stared at the younger woman. She was almost standing at attention, but without the salute. Instead, her hands were tightly fisted at her sides and she was staring out through the window, watching as different local news stations jockeyed for the best shot.

  Slowly, Laurel walked up to Alex and gently reached for her hand, gasping at her cool skin. “Hey, babe...how are you doing?” She gradually moved so that she was standing in front of the taller woman and with her free hand, guided Alex’s vision until they were looking at each other. “Hey...wanna go to my place an
d snuggle? I can make some hot tea and cookies and we can maybe watch a movie. How does that sound?”

  Alex stared at her for a few moments, not saying a word, but rubbing her thumb over the knuckles of the hand she was holding. Finally, she gave her head a couple of small nods before she answered, “That sounds great. Um...I’m all done. Let’s get out of here.” Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around Laurel and hugged her gently, placing a soft kiss on her forehead and just staying that way for a few more moments. Finally, she gave Laurel another sweet kiss and took a step back. “Let’s go. There’s a spot on the bed that needs to be warmed up so we can watch a movie.”

  Grabbing the suitcases, Alex followed Laurel into the kitchen and then out into the garage. After stowing the luggage and the backpack, she quickly strapped a surfboard to the roof of the Xterra and grabbed a couple of buckets, a couple pairs of swimming fins, snorkels, and diving masks. Tossing everything into a dive bag, she put them in the back, closed the hatch, and finally slid into the driver’s seat before turning to look at Laurel.

  “I thought you might want to have some real fun while we’re down there,’ she stated as she was turning on the car. “Got your cap ready?”

  Laurel tugged it lower and kept her eyes on the floor as Alex hit the garage door opener and started backing down the drive. Two of the officers jumped into their cars, the one in the lead started escorting the Xterra, while the second car brought up the rear.

  The media scrambled to get to their vans and get the show on the road.

  The officers had planned this drive carefully, and with the help of a few friends they were able to confuse, misdirect, and finally lose every one of the vans. The lead car pulled up to Laurel’s gate and the driver stepped out of the car. He spoke a few words to the guard before he turned and walked over to Alex’s auto. She lowered her window and listened. “These nice gentlemen are going to make sure that you are not disturbed.”

  Reaching out to shake the officer’s hand, she shared, “I know that Ms. Taylor really appreciates all your help. If you would, please tell them that there is going to be a crew from WHSE to interview Ms. Taylor around a quarter to eleven tomorrow morning. Please ask them to escort those reporters to Ms. Taylor’s home, if they would.”

  He agreed and waved at the guard, who opened the gate. Both Alex and Laurel gave the guards a wave as they drove into the community.

  Pulling into Laurel’s drive, Alex put the car into park and turned off the ignition. The drive from her home had been quiet, save some words wondering about the way that the officers had gotten them to their destination.

  Laurel reached out to place her hand on Alex’s thigh. “We can talk about it whenever you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Alex nodded her head, but didn’t say anything. Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She opened the door and got out, taking the suitcase that held her jeans and t-shirts with her. She waited patiently as Laurel unlocked the front door then followed her inside.

  Closing the door after the younger woman walked in, Laurel toed off her shoes and took the suitcase from Alex, sitting it on the floor before leading her out to the screened-in back porch. Stopping in front of a wooden rocking chair, she grasped both of Alex’s hands in hers. “Why don’t you sit out here for a few moments? I’ll be out in just a few and we can enjoy the end of the day,” she suggested.

  Alex gave her a weak smile and nodded her head. Sitting down, she was pleasantly surprised when Laurel leaned in to give her forehead a kiss. “I won’t be more than a few minutes.”

  “I’ll be right here,” was Alex’s soft reply. “I love you.”

  Laurel turned back to her lover and framed her face with her hands. She stared into Alex’s eyes and smiled, “I love you too.”

  Laurel headed towards the kitchen, leaving Alex in the waning light of the afternoon. She sat quietly rocking, listening to the crickets and birds starting their evening symphony. The backyard was a canopy of colors with flowers and herbs. Alex always found it relaxing to sit and listen to the evening sounds, and today was no exception. Soon the sounds of running water, the click of a spoon against glass, and the crinkling of aluminum foil drifted through the open patio door.

  After a few minutes, Laurel came out bearing a tray that was laden with cups of steaming hot tea and warm cookies. “Thought you might like something to nibble on,” she stated as she placed the tray on a table that was between the chairs.

  “Now I know that you didn’t have time to bake cookies today, so where did these come from?” Alex asked as she was reaching out for one.

  “I’ll have you know that I baked these earlier in the week and decided to warm them up,” Laurel chuckled as she sat down and reached for her mug of tea. She thought they needed a little quiet time where they did nothing but relax and enjoy the evening. She hoped that Alex would eventually tell her what was bothering her, but she wasn’t going to push.

  “Hey!” Alex exclaimed around a mouthful of cookie. “These have bacon in ‘em.”

  Laurel couldn’t stop her own smile as she watched her lover enjoy her treat. “I found the recipe and just had to fix it for you. I figured that bacon chocolate chip cookies would make your day.”

  “You take such good care of me. I don’t know what I would do without you,” Alex stated, but a moment later her face grew dark and pensive.

  They sat quietly for a while, eating the cookies and drinking tea as the night slowly crept in. Just when it was almost full darkness, Alex started speaking, “Yesterday, when we were looking for you, I couldn’t imagine not having you in my life. I would have done anything...everything to find you. But today, I realized that if Detective Walters hadn’t figured out where you were, I would have spent the rest of my life looking out over your grave.” She turned tearful eyes towards her lover. “I honestly don’t know how I would have handled it if you had been found years later. I probably would have fallen apart.”

  Rising from the chair, Laurel stood in front of Alex and leaned down to frame her lover’s face once again with her hands. “You found me, not Detective Walters. He said this morning that you, not him, figured out where Dawn had buried me.”

  She gently kissed the tears from Alex’s face. “You saved me, Alex...and not just yesterday. You gave me my life back, and you brought love and joy back into my heart.”

  Standing, Laurel grasped Alex’s hands and drew her up. “Come with me,” she whispered as she walked towards her bedroom.

  Once they got to the bedroom, Laurel stopped them at the foot of her bed by turning to face her lover. Letting go of Alex’s hand, she started unbuttoning her lover’s shirt, sliding it off once it was free and then opening the front clasp of her bra.

  Gently, she slid the piece of material off Alex’s shoulders, letting it drop to the floor as she reached up to glide her fingertips over perfect breasts.

  Alex struggled to keep her hands to herself, knowing that Laurel needed to be in control. She was quite content to allow that.

  Leaning forward to place a soft kiss between Alex’s breasts, Laurel let her hands reach down to unfasten her pants and tugged both her pants and underwear off, tossing them aside. She let her hands then wander over the taller woman’s body, making Alex gasp and squirm just a little.

  Alex bit her bottom lip as sensations rolled through her. She stretched out her hand to start removing Laurel’s clothes when the shorter woman stopped her.

  “No, let me do this for you...for us.” Laurel quickly undressed and drew her lover into the shower. Turning on the water and getting it to a comfortable temperature, she placed Alex underneath the cascading water. Reaching for her body sponge and the liquid soap, she lathered up the sponge and began to bathe her lover, taking her time to make sure that every inch of Alex was clean.

  Even though Laurel took her time, this was not a sexual act, and Alex knew it. She knew that it was sensual and healing, a close calmness no one else was worthy of receiving. A “taking c
are of you because your day was a difficult one” and she loved Laurel all the more for it.

  After Laurel made sure that there wasn’t any lingering soap on her lover’s body, Alex stopped her by placing her hand on Laurel’s chest and whispering, “It’s my turn now.”

  And she took her time, giving Laurel the same attention that was given to her and loving every minute of it. She finished rinsing her off just as the hot water started to turn cooler. They got out and dried each other off. After brushing out their hair, they put on their night clothes and crawled into bed. Alex rested her head above Laurel’s heart, listening to the only true thing she knew...love.

  Soon both women were fast asleep and gentle breathing filled the air.

  * * * * *

  The sound of purring slowly made it was to Alex’s consciousness and she began to awaken. As she opened her eyes, she found that she was spooned against the back of Laurel with one leg and one arm holding the smaller woman in place, and Tori laying against their heads.

  Leaning forward a scant inch, she placed a gentle kiss against sleep-tousled hair before carefully extracting herself from the bed, leaving the cat to watch over her lover. Once free, she went into the bathroom, took care of her morning needs, then grabbed a brush and some clothes out of her suitcase.

  Not wanting to wake Laurel, she took them into the living room where she quickly shed her pajamas and pulled on a pair of well-worn jeans and a fuchsia polo shirt. After tucking in the shirt, she threaded a brown, braided belt through the loops. Looking at herself in the mirror, she was pleased as she brushed out her hair.

  Once finished, she went into the kitchen and started making breakfast.

  * * * * *

  Laurel woke up in an empty bed, smelled coffee brewing and bacon frying. “Wherever we’re going, there had better be bacon,” she chuckled as she pulled herself out of bed.