The Eternity that Follows

by Diane Marie

  “Yes. You mean it though?” Gabriella asked, giving Joey a stare with her eyes, suggesting she was scared to trust him. “I mean it.” Joey said, looking back into Gabriella’s eyes and assuring she could trust him.

  Gabriella kissed Joey as he held her in the water. “Forever?” Gabriella asked, when they were through kissing. “Forever.”

  “The eternity that follows.” Gabriella said, demandingly. “The eternity that follows and whatever there is after that.” Joey promised.

  Joey and Gabriella left the water, and while doing so, Joey was trampled by a wave. Joey stumbled to his feet while Gabriella stood over him laughing. They then dried off in the sun, and then stayed to watch the sunset.

  “What do you think there is out there?” Gabriella asked, looking away form the sunset and onto the horizon of the ocean. “Water.”

  “Yeah but I mean what else?”

  “Your not talking about the ocean, are you?”

  “Nope.” Gabriella said, simply.

  Joey thought perhaps she may be referencing to space. They had just spoken about coming back after dinner to gaze at the stars together.

  “Are you talking about space?”

  “No.”

  “I’m stumped Gab.”

  “I’m talking about out there in life, what’s out there? I don’t know anything about life now, other than you. I’m just curious if there’s something else more meaningful then love out there.”

  “Love of a child.” Joey said, playing with the strings on Gabriella’s bikini bottom.

  “No, Joey that’s not what I’m talking about.”

  “Are you still caught up on what if you drowned today? Gabriella, I would never let anything happen to you, especially when I’m right there to protect you.”

  “I guess, I just feel I have another purpose in life.”

  “You mean you don’t feel the meaning of life any more is for man and woman to be with each other anymore?”

  “No. I still fell that way. I just feel my life needs to have a purpose, like I have to make an impact in society someway. It’s just that the ocean makes me feel so little in life. It makes me realize how big the earth is, and how my existence doesn’t matter to the world. I just feel there’s a part of life I’m missing.” “When were back her next summer with our newborn child tell me if you still feel that way.”

  “You don’t feel small next to the ocean?”

  “I guess I do. I do feel powerless over it.”

  “Does it make you feel like your life’s not important though?” “No. It makes me feel like it’s a deathtrap and it can kill me. Look I don’t feel that the ocean was made for people to swim in. I guess that does make me feel like I’m kind of unimportant, that the ocean wasn’t made for man.”

  “Well fishes have soul mates too.” Gabriella said, causing Joey to laugh.

  Joey then gave Gabriella a kiss on the lips. “So we can add into my theory that God loved man and women so much he created animals to have lovers too.” Gabriella concluded.

  “Yes, but didn’t animals come before Eve? I know the birds did. But weren’t you the one to say when God made man, he already had woman in mind?”

  “Yes. But weren’t you the one to say that he didn’t and God made Adam so many animals so that he had friends, and then at the end of making them, realized that Adam needed a companion that was like him?”

  “Yes. I did say that. But maybe God was just playing with Adam and he wanted him to wait for his bride.” Joey said, then kissing Gabriella.

  “Awe Joey! You’re so romantic at times.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “All right, lets get off this beach, go shower, and get ready for dinner. I promise to take you back after for a walk on the beach, under the moonlight.”

  “Awe Joe.” Gabriella said, grabbing her beach bag while Joey grabbed the sheet. Gabriella then hopped on Joey’s back for a ride off the sand.

  Joey and Gabriella had a wonderful dinner together, as they usually did. Gabriella took Joey to the her favorite Italian restaurant in Point Pleasant, and Gabriella was quick to realize how romantic the restaurant seemed with Joey there with her. Joey looked so handsome over the candlelight, Gabriella couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest women on earth. Joey himself also felt fortunate to have a beautiful partner to share his life with. Joey and Gabriella stared at each other over the candlelight as their love caused them both to feel warmth and love all over.

  Joey and Gabriella then took a long walk on the beach as they held each others hand. When they were through with their walk, Joey sat down and spread his legs apart so Gabriella could lean her back against him. Gabriella gazed up at the stars as Joey’s gaze followed.

  “Do the stars make you feel small too?” Joey asked.

  “No. The stars make me feel special.”

  “Oh, are they only for you?”

  “Yup.” Gabriella said, as Joey started tickling Gabriella’s sides. “Hey.” Gabriella protested, as she started tickling him back.

  Joey and Gabriella got into a wrestling match, and Joey went easy on Gabriella, and then finally pinned her down. “Got you.” Joey said.

  “You always win.”

  “It’s not my fault God mad man to be more dominant.” “Oh, is that how you feel?”

  “I sure do. Let me show you in the bedroom.”

  Gabriella had not protest on leaving the beach. As Joey made love to Gabriella that night, he had an after feeling of his body still in the ocean, feeling his body swaying back and forth, and then using the tide of the ocean to match the way he made love to Gabriella. When Joey reached his feeling of intense pleasure, Gabriella’s love carried away him into a whole new world. Joey felt opposite then Gabriella did, feeling the ocean was a place that made him feel more important in life.

  On Monday, Joey and Gabriella were fifteen minutes late to her Aunt’s barbeque. Gabriella had gotten lost on the roads in Point Pleasant, but when they finally arrived, no one seemed to notice they were late. Gabriella found her family quickly outside, and introduced all of her family to Joey. He spent the day getting to know Gabriella’s family, knowing it was important to Gabriella, he got to know her father’s side of the family, being it was the side she had grown up closer too.

  Joey and Gabriella stayed till after dessert was put out, and then they had to leave for the ride back home. When Joey and Gabriella got home, they went out to Mandala diner for a late night snack, ordering appetizers. Joey was excited to get back to work after his weekend away, after all this was Joey’s scheduled week to finish the house. Gabriella was excited to be off to her first class that was to start at nine in the morning. Joey feared her driving forty five minutes away, realizing a car accident was something he couldn’t protect her from.

  Joey’s fear brought a new side of him to bed, learning to savor his passion for Gabriella. He made love while afraid he was never going to see her again, as if it was his last chance to prove, he loved her. Joey took all of Gabriella in, making moments last longer then they usually did. Joey looked into Gabriella’s eyes, “I promise forever Gabriella.” As he closed his eyes to savor her kiss, and the love she was offering.

  Chapter Thirty

  Gabriella had a good week at school. Every night at dinner, she shared with Joey something that had extremely interested her from her classes. While Gabriella was working on her homework on Friday night, Joey decided it was time for him to draw up their wedding bands. Joey drew roses and vines to be engraved into a white gold band, to match Gabriella’s ring, and also their tattoo’s. The rings didn’t take long for Joey to draw up, being it were a simple design. When Joey was done, he showed Gabriella for approval and she fell in love, happy Joey didn't want to keep the design a secret.

  When Gabriella announced she had at least another hour of school work she wanted to get through, Joey decided to start on the next ring design he had in his head for Gabriella. Joey wanted the ring to signify e
ternity. He figured, the gesture of giving it to Gabriella as their wedding gift would speak louder then any words, he could come up with to prove his love. Joey used the symbol of infinity to draw up the design, he then placed three tiny diamonds on the outskirts on opposite sides of the infinity symbol. He then erased the lines that connected the symbol, sketching in a stone, but he didn’t want the stone to be a diamond, he had a purple stone in mind. He figured he would pick out the stone when he brought the design to the jeweler. Joey then placed the connection of the symbol over the stone, holding to hold the stone in place. Joey was just about done when Gabriella announced she were done with her homework. Joey asked for one more minute, and so Gabriella questioned what he as doing, but he said it was a surprise. Gabriella was actually happy to hear another surprise. If he wasn’t taking her to the house tomorrow for the first time, she would have made a stink to see what he was up to. Since that wasn’t the case, Gabriella got ready for bed, washing up for bed, and letting Joey finish.

  Joey was slowly moving in and out of Gabriella, saying infinity over and over again as they made love that night. Gabriella wondered where Joey had came up with the term infinity for the first time in the bedroom. Joey slowed down his love making, in between his kisses of saying infinity. Joey stopped his whole body for a moment, looking into Gabriella’s eyes. “Why aren’t you saying infinity back?” Joey asked, using his sad puppy dog face.

  Gabriella kissed his lips right away.

  “Infinity.” She said, after her kiss, but Joey hadn’t brought it. “Why weren’t you saying it before?” Joey asked, and Gabriella motioned her hips for him to start up again, Joey didn’t move. “Joe, you didn’t give me the chance! You would say it and then kiss. I only had the opportunity to kiss back.” Gabriella informed,

  Joey then changed his rhythm in bed. The new rhythm was, Joey saying infinity followed by a kiss, then Gabriella said infinty, followed by another kiss, and then it was Joey’s turn again. Though Joey was cute, and romantic while they made love, when they were done Gabriella finally let her laughter out.

  “What’s so funny?” Joey asked.

  “How cute you are.” Gabriella said, giving him a kiss on the nose.

  Joey made a face. “No really. I promise that’s what I’m laughing about. You’re so damn cute.” Gabriella said, turning on her side to fall asleep. She was overly excited to be going to the house for the first time tomorrow, knowing so, Joey let her laugh at him go, sure she was telling the truth in regards to her laughter.

  Joey then held Gabriella from behind, while never wanted a night to go by without holding her.

  When Joey and Gabriella woke up, Gabriella turned up the stereo in her room, and began singing and dancing around. Joey could see how excited she was to be going to the house for the first time. What Joey failed to inform her was that they would be moving in tonight. Joey didn’t dare buy a bedspread for their bedroom. Instead, Joey had Gabriella pick out the comforter seat she wanted on-line. Joey went to the store the next day and since they had it in stock, picked it up. Joey also failed to mention, he had moved his furniture from the living room of his apartment into the family room of their new house, that he moved his bedroom furniture into one of the spare bedrooms, and also failed to report, all the furniture they had picked out had already been delivered.

  What Gabriella did know is her china set was on the dinning room floor of her new home, awaiting her. Gabriella was pleased this past week, when Joey had come home on his lunch hour to grab the packages while Gabriella was at school. When Gabriella got home from school, she called Joey right away to tell him that their china had been stolen. Joey laughed, telling her with a smirk on his face, he picked it up on his lunch hour. He told her, the china couldn’t wait for her to get her hands on it and be displayed in her china cabinet. Gabriella had been beaming to see the house ever since.

  Gabriella had Joey and her out of the house early. Joey drove onto the street going around the side of Lake Romantica with houses set on it, a half mile back from the edge of the lake. Joey pulled onto a gravel driveway and drove Gabriella up to the house.

  “We’re living in a castle?” Gabriella asked, when they were close enough to see the house.

  “It’s not a castle.” Joey said, and then he started to laugh. He could tell Gabriella already loved the house.

  “It’s gorgeous Joey.” Gabriella said, getting out of the car.

  Joey followed and held her from behind.

  “You like it so far?”

  “Love it.”

  The exterior of the house was made of dark stone. The house was oversized as Gabriella soon realized it was a small mansion. There was a path from the driveway of flattening stone, leading to the door way. At the doorway, was a step up to an oversized half circle. Joey assured Gabriella, come spring, he would make sure there were flowers outlining the pathway in the flower beds that laid in front of the house.

  The house had a huge bay window on the left down stairs side. Above the window was a glass door with an outside balcony. The balcony had an iron white railing that mirrored on the other side. Below the balcony, on the other side, was two large windows. The roof of the house was straight in edge and their was a tower on the right side of the house, giving the house it’s unique design. The tower was beautiful, rather then gaudy, as Gabriella would have thought, if Joey was to tell her there was a tower beforehand. The attic of the house ranged the length of the whole house till it hit its end,dropping down in a slant, where it hit the tower on the second floor, and the tower started above the ceiling of the first floor, ranging up to a fifth story.

  Gabriella was so stunned by the outside, she was scared to walk inside. Joey led her inside anways, though he knew she were scared, and Gabriella was standing in a foyer. In the foyer, was a set of stairs at the dead center of the house. To the left of the stairs was an entrance to the oversized kitchen. Joey led Gabriella into the kitchen first, while his heart beat fast waiting the entire houses’ approval. Gabriella gasped, seeing the kitchen was a light green color, with black appliances, the same as the mini appliances Joey picked when registering. Gabriella had already seen the dark green marble tiling of the floor, Joey had already shown her, when he showed her the samples of the home. The walls of the kitchen were lined with light-green wall paper, with a pink flower print. Gabriella had seen the sampling of the wall paper as well. Gabriella noticed the bay window, and the bench sitting in front of it. The bench was aliened to a big kitchen table that also had four chairs surrounding it. Gabriella was speechless over Joey’s design, creating a bay window in the kitchen to accompany the kitchen table. Gabriella noted how nicely the kitchen matched her plate set.

  Joey then lead Gabriella out of the kitchen, the same way they came in, Gabriella seen there was another exit out of the kitchen, but didn’t know yet where it lead to. Joey, lead Gabriella to the right of the foyer, and Gabriella was in a room she knew wasn’t a living room, not a family room but rather a huge hallway she gathered was designed to be a sitting room. Gabriella could still see the staircase from the room, and realized the window in the sitting room was the first window she had seen from the outside on the right side of the house. She pictured two chairs and a table with fresh flowers’ in-between in front of the window. Gabriella imagined her daughters grown, getting ready for a date. She imagined bringing their dates into the sitting room as they awaited her daughters to come down the elaborate stair case to greet them. Gabriella was day dreaming when Joey took her hand, walking her to the rest of the right side of the house.

  Once passed the sitting room, Joey lead Gabriella down a one step stair, and Gabriella guessed right away the room to be the family room. Gabriella noticed Joey’s blue couches, his end tables and coffee table, and his huge plasma television. The family room was so big, it covered the rest of the first floor to right of the house, going all the way to the back of the house. The room was longer then it was wide, holding the second window on the right side, Gabriella had seen
outside. The right wall of the house had two windows on the sides of the television. On the back wall was an entrance leading outside to a patio, but Gabriella wasn’t allowed to check out the backside of the room. There was another entrance Gabriella noticed, but Joey wouldn’t let her look through it, yet. Gabriella then noticed a second white, shinny spiral staircase on the back wall of the family room, and her curious intrigued her.

  Joey then led Gabriella out of the family room, through the sitting room, and back to the left side of the stair cases. Gabriella was in the hallway that led to the rest of the house, catching a glimpse of the second entrance to the kitchen.

  Joey showed Gabriella a big closet under the staircase on the left. Joey then led her back to the other side of the staircase that had no hall. The left side of the staircase died out and had a wall opposite the sitting area. Joey opened the door to the down stairs bath room that was under the staircase. The bathroom was designed similar to the one Joey had constructed in his apartment. Only this bathroom didn’t have a shower in it. The sink was made of white porcelain as was the toilet bowl.

  Joey then lead Gabriella back to the other side of the staircase, and through the hallway. When Gabriella reached the end of the hallway, she saw the exit to the kitchen, leading into the hallway, and then into the dinning room. Gabriella stepped into the dinning room, and Joey assured she there would be a crystal chandler as soon as he could afford it. For now, there was just a light bulb in a fixture. The dinning room had three closed walls, and an open wall for where they entered. Gabriella would have thought they were at the other family room entrance by now, and was shocked they weren’t. Gabriella commented on how lovely her rug and furniture furnished the room, and begged Joey to take her to the next room which she knew would be the living room.

  Joey wouldn’t let Gabriella leave though, wanting to christen this whole house with her. Joey pulled off his shirt, asking Gabriella to get naked, and lie on the table for him. Gabriella wasn’t in the mood for sex, she was fantasized by the house. Gabriella tired to leave the room, but Joey wouldn’t let her. Joey stood in front of her, holding her back from exploring the rest of the house. Joey then got down on one knee and said,