Wings of Love

by Jeanette Skutinik

  Wings of Love

  Jeanette Skutnik

  Published by Jeanette Skutnik at Smashwords

  Copyright 2012 Jeanette Skutnik

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

  Chapter 1

  Amy Makowski glanced at the weathered, wooden swing that swayed in the wind as she walked up the cobblestone path. She reached for the doorbell lit up in the darkness. Her hand shook as she pushed the button. Amy shrugged her shoulders as she rocked back and forth to stop her teeth from chattering. It was a cold December night but that was not the reason she had goose bumps.

  Amy waited for this night all week long. She worked way too many hours which was not exactly good for her social life. Soon she would have enough money saved to buy the rust colored Plymouth Duster that sat in the parking lot of The Bad Axe Used Car Lot. Granted her walk to work did wonders for her slender figure but she could do without the sore feet and frozen toes.

  The door opened wide and the lights from inside illuminated a man in his early twenties with a medium build and stature. He had curly black hair that just barely touched the collar of his flannel shirt. She recognized that smile and his gray eyes immediately. Adam had been her brother’s friend for as long as she could remember. The scent of his Old Spice cologne aroused her senses more than she’d care to admit.

  “Hi Adam,” Amy said as she looked into the living room. She could see the New Year’s Eve party was already in full swing. She heard Show Me the Way by Peter Frampton as it played loudly inside. Happy New Year banners hung on the walls with streamers and balloons strung up next to them from the ceiling.

  “Come on in Amy,” Adam moved back as she entered the house and escorted her into the living room. “Guess who finally decided to show up?” Adam hollered over the music. He helped Amy remove her coat and tossed it over the couch.

  “It’s about time! Haven’t you heard the old saying, all work and no play?” Joey Makowski got up from the ottoman as he held onto a beautiful blonde’s hand and walked toward Amy.

  “Angie this is my twin sister, Amy.” Joey put his arm around them both. “Amy, this is Angie Deville.”

  The blonde was almost as tall as her brother and built like a brick house. Damn she sure was not from around here.

  “You two look nothing alike.” Angie smiled as she hung onto Joey’s arm.

  And bright too. Amy smiled back politely. “It’s nice to meet you, Angie.”

  Adam walked back over to Amy and handed her a drink. He took her hand and they moved through the crowd of people. “I have a surprise for you.”

  Amy rolled her eyes as she followed him. “The last time you surprised me….,” she stopped in mid-sentence. “Oh my God.”

  A perky young woman in a pink pullover and gray lee jeans stood in the kitchen. She flipped her brown hair as she laughed loudly at something the guy in front of her said.

  “When did you get back in town?” Amy hugged her friend.

  “I arrived home yesterday. I am officially finished with college.” Janet Oakes had been Amy’s best friend since kindergarten. “We sure have a lot to catch up on. My boyfriend, Peter will be here soon. Maybe we can get together another time.” She reached in her purse and grabbed a used candy wrapper and pen. Janet jotted her name and number down. “Give me a call tomorrow and we can make plans to go to lunch.”

  Amy took the wrapper from Janet and stuffed it in her back pocket. She hugged her friend again. “I promise I will call you.” Amy watched as her friend walked away and chuckled to herself. She remembered the time Janet and her got caught smoking in the girls’ bathroom at a junior high school Halloween dance. They were busted by a teacher dressed up as a cheerleader!

  Amy sat down to eat some sloppy Joes and potato salad when Adam pulled up a chair next to her. “Man, I am starved.” His plate was piled high with every food imaginable. “I worked today and then had hockey practice afterwards, so I didn’t get a chance to eat yet.”

  Amy watched Adam as he ate his dinner while his guard was down. When he glanced down at his plate she noticed his thick, black eyelashes. He looked up at her with his smoky, gray eyes which only enhanced them more.

  “What?” Adam said as he smirked.

  “Nothing,” she blushed that he had caught her staring at him. She tossed a crumpled napkin at him to ease her embarrassment.

  Adam looked at her as if he was going to say something but changed his mind. He played with his food then looked up at her again as he cleared his throat. “Amy would you like to go see a movie this weekend? I thought we could go see Rocky or Carrie.”

  Amy raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Did she hear correctly?

  He tapped the fork on his plate nervously. “Or we could go see The Outlaw Josey Wales?”

  I guess I did hear him correctly! She sat there for a brief moment as she hadn’t expected the conversation to take such a turn in her favor. “That would be great. I have to work until five, but anytime afterward would be fine.”

  “Then it’s a date,” Adam said as he collected their dirty dishes. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.”

  Amy watched as he walked away. She was quite pleased with herself for remaining so calm when she had been as nervous as hell!

  ***

  Adam tossed all the dirty paper plates and plastic silverware in a garbage bag. He rushed to get done so he could spend some more time with Amy. Between his work schedule and hockey practice it didn’t leave him much free time. It dawned on him to check the coolers first. He grabbed the bag of garbage and another case of Budweiser and headed out the door.

  “Hey, wait up.” Joey threw on his leather coat and followed Adam out the door. He lit a smoke and took a deep drag then exhaled slowly. “Well, did you finally ask her out chicken shit?”

  “Hell yeah, I finally got the cojones to ask her. You were right man, she said yes.” Adam threw the garbage in the can and slammed the lid back on. He added the case of beer to the cooler then gave Joey a high five.

  “Just remember dude that is my sister you’re messin’ with.” Joey took another drag of his cigarette before he crushed it out on the ground with his shoe. “Don’t hurt her or you’ll have to answer to me!”

  Adam grabbed two beers out of the cooler and handed one to Joey. “You have my word.” He popped the tab and took a swig of his beer. “Come on let’s get back inside, it’s friggin’ cold out here.”

  ***

  Amy found her Diet Pepsi and sat down on the leather couch which recently had been pushed against the wall with all the other furniture in the room. The throw rugs had been rolled up and put aside. The lights were dimmed and music began to stream throughout the house. Couples started to dance on the newly made dance floor. One of her favorite songs by Chicago came on If You Leave Me Now.

  “Guess who?” Adam came up behind Amy and placed his hands over her eyes. “Do you want to dance?” Adam took her drink and put it on the end table next to the couch. He placed his hand in hers and softly glided her onto the dance floor, apprehensively placing his hands on her hips.

  It took Amy a couple minutes to convince herself that Adam LaPointe held her in his arms. Pinch me, I must be dreaming. She composed herself and nestled her head into his shoulder taking in the scent of Adam. The smell of his recently washed hair intoxicated her senses.

  Adam swayed back and forth to the music as he softly caressed Amy with his hands that still reste
d on her hips. She felt the warmth of his breath as he whispered in her ear. “Only a few minutes until midnight.” He pulled her even closer as they moved in perfect rhythm to the music. The slow song ended and Play That Funky Music came on by Wild Cherry.

  “Hey, it’s almost midnight,” Joey interrupted as he handed them a horn and a hat. He rushed around passing out horns, noisemakers, and hats to everyone. The champagne was poured in plastic glasses to toast in the New Year – 1977. Everybody there was getting into the excitement of the festivities and waited for the countdown to begin.

  Adam placed his arm around her waist with his drink in his hand. He handed Amy a glass of champagne. She smiled up at him as the countdown began. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five , four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!!” Auld Lang Syne played on the radio.

  “Happy New Year!” Amy raised her glass as they toasted in the New Year.

  “Happy New Year.” Adam held her in his arms and tenderly gave Amy her first kiss of 1977.

  This is going to be a happy, new year. Amy held him close and kissed him back.

  ***

  Amy was snuggled under the granny square afghan her great-grandmother had made for her. She lay on her back as she stared up towards the ceiling. She had gotten home over an hour ago and was not able to fall asleep. Not that she really wanted to. Amy recalled every detail of the evening as she touched her lips still tender from his kisses.

  Somebody knocked quietly on her door. “Amy, are you up?” Joey whispered.

  “Yes, come on in.” She sat up in bed still wrapped in her afghan. “What’s up?”

  “I heard Adam asked you out.” Joey sat down at the foot of her bed.

  “Yes, he did.” Amy hugged her pillow dreamily to her chest. “How was your date?”

  “I think I’m in love.” He staggered out the door as he held his hand over his heart. “Good night.”

  “You’re always in love!” Amy tossed the pillow at Joey. “Sweet dreams,” she murmured then rolled over and drifted off into sweet dreams of her own.

  ***

  Adam checked the clock on the kitchen wall above the sink. The hands showed that it was four in the morning. He turned the light off and headed up the stairs to the bathroom. Staring at his reflection in the mirror he brushed his teeth and thought about tonight. He shut off the light unbuttoning his flannel shirt as he walked to his bedroom. He tossed the shirt on the floor and removed his jeans. Adam crawled into bed in his boxers pulling the comforter up over him and turned on his side. I have a date with Amy! He reached toward the nightstand, turned on the clock radio and listened to December 1963 (Oh What a Night) by the Four Seasons. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep with thoughts of Amy in his head.

  Chapter 2

  Amy stretched her arms above her head and yawned. She dreaded the thought of getting out of her warm, cozy bed. She looked at her clock radio which read 6:21am. Time to get up and make the donuts she grumbled kicking off the covers and jumped out of bed. She put her slippers on and shuffled into the kitchen. She filled the Mr. Coffee with water, added the coffee and clicked the button on. The aroma of it brewing awoke her sense of smell. Now what should I have for breakfast. Scanning the cupboard she chose a box of Frosted Flakes. She reached in the refrigerator and shook the almost empty carton of milk.

  Amy ate her breakfast while she glanced through the paper. She checked out the movie section excited to see what was at the show this Saturday. Rocky was at the Bad Axe Theater at 9:00pm. This would be the first time her and Adam would be alone. They usually all went out in a group together. Amy put her bowl and spoon in the sink and poured herself a cup of coffee. She stared out the window as she took a sip. I am not looking forward to the walk to work. She headed up the stairs with her coffee mug in hand. I better get my ass moving.

  Amy put her rust, quilted coat on and snapped it up. She grabbed her lunch off of the counter as she headed out the door and locked it behind her. She would be surprised if Joey was up when she got home from work. Joey and she rented the tiny two bedroom bungalow for almost two years now.

  As Amy walked down the street the snow crunched under her boots. She noticed rabbit tracks imprinted on the glistening snow, proof that she was not the only one up this early.

  “Need a lift?” A deep voice came out of the partially rolled down window of a black Camaro. “Come on, hop in.” Bob reached across the front seat to open the door.

  “Good morning,” Amy said as she climbed in and closed the door. “Where were you last night?”

  Bob revved the engine as he pulled away from the curb. “I helped out at a sled hockey camp for disabled kids. I stayed overnight and just got back this morning.”

  “When did you start doing that?” Amy asked surprised that Bob would spend New Year’s Eve with a bunch of kids.

  “It’s part of my community service for my probation.” Bob leaned over to change the radio station. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart came on by Elton John and Kiki Dee. “I was wondering if you’d like to go to the auto show this weekend,” he turned and glanced at Amy.

  “Oh, I’m sorry Bob. I can’t,” said Amy as she looked straight into his light blue eyes. He turned away but not before she saw them flash from hopeful to disappointment. “I have to work Friday night and I already have plans for Saturday.”

  Bob strummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “No problem, I just thought it might be cool just the two of us hanging out. I’m sure I can find someone else to go.” He stared straight ahead concentrating on the road as he drove in silence. The only sound was the radio as it taunted the quietness with Give A Little Bit by Supertramp.

  Amy felt terrible that she let Bob down again. Even though Bob had quite the reputation for being a bad ass and finding trouble, he had always been nice to her. Whenever Amy needed something it seemed like he was there to help her.

  Bob pulled into the parking lot of the Farmer Jacks Grocery Store and did some donuts in the freshly fallen snow. He drove up at the entrance and let the car idle.

  “I am really sorry Bob.” Amy pleaded as she got out of the car. “Maybe we can do something another time. Thanks for the ride.”

  “Yeah, sure,” he peeled away the moment Amy closed the door.

  ***

  Adam answered the black rotary phone in the back office. “Harper Shell, can I help you? Tuesday? For an oil change? Let me check.” He placed the receiver on top of the phone while he flipped through the calendar. “Is two o’ clock fine? Okay, I’ll pencil you in. Have a great day.” He hung up the phone as he his thumbs rubbed his temples. “Man, I have a helluva hangover.”

  “Aww, do we have a little headache?” Mr. Harper purposely used the air wrench trying to be extra noisy. “You want to be a man at night you got to be a man in the morning!”

  “Shut the hell up,” laughed Adam. “You’re real funny.” He continued to take the lug nuts off then tossed them in the hub caps. “You want me to work on that Ford with the flywheel problem after lunch?”

  “Yeah, that would be great.” Mr. Harper wrote the work order up for the car he just finished. “The old lady made me a damn doctor’s appointment for a check-up this afternoon. I’ll need you to close up for me today.”

  “Sure, no problem,” replied Adam. He finished up the tire rotation and let the hoist down. “Ding,Ding,” echoed in the garage to let Adam know that a customer was at the gas pumps. He went outside to see his roommate’s Camaro parked by pump two. “Hey, what’s up? Need a fill up?”

  “Yeah, you can check the oil too.” Bob shut the engine off but left the radio blaring, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. “I put this new eight track system in. You can jump from track to track. It’s friggin’ cool.”

  “It sounds awesome.” Adam cleaned the dip stick then checked the oil. “You’re oil is fine. So are you going to Doogles Friday?”

  Bob looked in his rearview mirror. “I’m going to the auto show but maybe I’ll stop up there afterwards. Who’s the chick that jus
t pulled up behind me?”

  “I think her name is Crystal.” Adam removed the nozzle and placed the gas cap back on the car. “That will be $4.45.”

  “Here, keep the change.” Bob handed him a five dollar bill. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Take it easy.” Adam waved as Bob peeled out of the driveway. Adam went inside to ring up the sale on the register. He noticed the other attendant, Dale, waited on Crystal. Adam’s stomach growled. Time for lunch. He finished his bologna sandwich and threw the brown bag in the garbage. Maybe another cup of coffee would wake me up.

  Adam finished up all the work orders and was about to call it a day when the phone rang. “Geesh,” he answered it and wrote down the directions to where a customer’s car had stalled. “I’ll be there in about 20 minutes. Okay. Bye.”

  Adam turned the sign from open to close. He shut the lights off inside and out. He locked the doors and hopped into the tow truck then started the ignition. The Boys Are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy came on and he cranked up the radio. Adam chuckled to himself thinking of all the crazy times he had as he pulled the tow truck out into traffic.

  ***

  “Hello mom?” Amy peeked into the door of her mother’s kitchen. “Are you home?” She placed a bag of groceries on the butcher block counter.

  “Hi dear.” Mrs. Makowski came into the room and gave Amy a peck on the cheek. “I see you picked up a few things for me. Thank you, Amy. I just didn’t feel like going out today.”

  “No problem, Mom.” Amy put the perishable items in the refrigerator. “How do you feel?”

  Ever since Amy and Joey’s father died suddenly of a heart attack their mother had done her very best to raise and support her two kids. She never complained or been bitter about working double shifts at the factory for over 20 years. Now that she was retired Joey and Amy looked out for her.