Forever

by Rachel Maldonado

  Luckily, the doors upstairs were open, and Alex didn't have to check all of the rooms. One was clearly a bathroom, another was an office, and a third was a work out room with several exercise machines. The last room, also the largest, was the master bedroom. “Wow, Meghan,” whispered Alex. “You've done well for yourself.” She knew Meghan was a writer for the newspaper, a journalist or something. She hadn't had a chance to ask too much about it, and Meghan hadn't volunteered much information, so she didn't pry.

  As Alex lay Meghan softly down onto the bed, Meghan opened her eyes. She gazed longingly into Alex's eyes, and with her arms still around her, she kissed her. Alex was completely caught off guard. She had expected to lay Meghan in bed and sneak out of the house locking the door behind her. Now here she was, locking lips with a very sleepy and groggy Meghan. She kissed back not wanting to pull away, but after a few seconds pulled away from her and stood by the bed.

  “I think I should go,” said Alex breathless.

  Meghan beckoned her and pleaded. “Please, don't. We don't have to do anything more than that. I just don't want to be alone. Keep me company. Nap with me.”

  Alex grinned. “Sounds tempting. I've never been on a nap date before. But I really should get going.”

  Meghan said nothing, but she pleaded with her eyes. Her longing and sleepy eyes begged Alex to stay.

  Alex tucked her in under her covers, then sighed. “Alright, I'll stay. But no funny business.” Alex grinned at her comment, but Meghan was already fast asleep.

  “What am I doing?” Alex asked herself aloud as she began to take off her shoes and jeans.

  With Meghan snoring softly, she crept in bed beside her and rested her head on Meghan's pillow inhaling the sweet aroma of her shampoo. She closed her eyes and felt the exhaustion finally creeping up on her. In a matter of seconds, she was in a deep sleep dreaming about Meghan and all the wonderful times they were sure to have together in the future.

  By mid-afternoon, Alex was rudely awakened by Meghan screaming. “Ahh! Ahh! Oh, my Lord! What are you doing here!”

  Alex, startled, fell out of bed and onto the floor with a loud thud. The piercing scream had sent a chill down her spine. She popped up from the side of the bed onto her knees with a blanket half covering her head. “What's going on? Is there a burglar!?” She was squinting from the bright sunlight that had invaded the room as they slept.

  “How did you get in here? What are you doing here!?” asked Meghan flustered. She was clenching her pillow in her hands and was ready to swing it at Alex.

  “Geezus. Calm down!” Alex took the blanket off her head, then grabbed the bed sheet and wrapped it around her waist.

  “Don't tell me to calm down. You're standing there in your underwear, and you're telling me to calm down.”

  Alex chuckled. “You invited me here, remember? Last night. Or should I say, early this morning.”

  “Did I?” asked Meghan. It seemed like the memory of the evening and early morning finally sparked a recollection within her thoughts. “I did, didn't I? I'm sorry.” She placed the pillow back down on the bed. Her heart was racing, but as she started to recall the events of the evening, her heartbeat slowed to a normal resting pace.

  “Are you always this out of it in the morning?” Alex walked over to her jeans and began to put them on.

  Meghan was in clear view of her rear and how well it fit into her snug panties. She hesitated to turn her face away, but when she did so, she grinned. “I am when I wake up and there's a woman in my bed and shouldn't be.”

  “What?” asked Alex with her eyebrows raised. “This happens often, does it?”

  “Wha-? No, it doesn't. I'm sorry. That sounded wrong.”

  Alex laughed. “I guess I should get going. Thanks for the nap date.” She sat on the bed and began to put on her shoes.

  Meghan felt bad. “I'm sorry. I remember now that I asked you to stay. I hope you're not upset.”

  Alex grinned. “I'm not mad. I sort of knew this was a bad idea. It was too soon, and we hardly know each other.”

  “But nothing happened.” Meghan wondered if Alex would ever want to see her again. Maybe she had appeared needy or clingy. She wished she could hear what Alex was thinking.

  “I know. We can make plans for another date soon. Right now I have to go home and shower. I might get some more sleep before getting ready for work. I have to work the graveyard shift tonight. Security can be boring, but someone's gotta do it.”

  Meghan nodded. “I hope you don't think I'm weird that I asked you to stay and didn't remember.”

  Alex laughed, then shook her head. “Not at all. You were pretty gone this morning. I'm just glad you finally remembered before you called the cops or clobbered me on the head with that pillow.”

  Meghan smirked. “Right. I guess I wasn't going to do much damage anyway even if you really had been an intruder.”

  “Oh, I don't know. We could've had one hell of a pillow fight. One for the record books.” Alex laughed at her own comment. She pictured herself and Meghan hitting one another with down pillows and having feathers fly all over the place. She quickly removed that idea from her thoughts, so that she could leave. “You walk me out?”

  Meghan blushed. “Sure thing.”

  The two women walked downstairs and Meghan stood in the open door while Alex stepped out. “Do you remember anything else about this morning?” asked Alex curiously.

  “Like what?”

  “Like that I carried you upstairs and put you to bed? Or maybe that you kissed me.”

  Meghan was embarrassed. “Did I? Oh, right. I did.”

  “I guess since you didn't remember, I get to kiss you again.” Alex stepped close to Meghan and kissed her softly on the lips. Meghan felt all the tension in her body subside. “I really want our first kiss together to be one that you always remember.”

  Meghan reciprocated Alex's kiss tenderly, then smiled. “I know I will remember it forever.”

  Chapter Eleven

  As soon as Alex left, Meghan phoned Willie who promptly answered the phone on the first ring like she always did for Meghan. “What gives little lady?” asked Willie. She always had a tendency to answer the phone in a silly manor. “What happened with Alex?”

  “She's absolutely wonderful.” Meghan was still swooning over having spent time with her at last. Willie could hear her smile in her upbeat voice.

  “Yeah? I knew you'd hit it off,” said Willie grinning. “Guess what I did this morning,” she asked, changing the subject.

  Meghan was expecting another goofy answer. “I don't know. What?”

  “I joined the service.”

  Meghan stayed quiet for a moment waiting for the punch line. “What do you mean? What service?” she finally asked when she realized there was no punch line that followed.

  “Well, it's not a taxi service or dating service,” laughed Willie. “Although, I'm sexy enough to be on one of those date a cute gay for pay services, huh?” She continued to laugh.

  “No, seriously. What are you talking about?” questioned Meghan. She started to realize what Willie was talking about.

  “I joined the Army.”

  “You did what!?” blurted Meghan. “Why did you do that? And without talking to me about it?”

  Willie laughed. “What are you, my mama?”

  Meghan was upset and tears filled her eyes. “Why didn't you talk to me about it?”

  “Because you would've tried to talk me out of it, Meghan. This is something I don't want to be talked out of. I want to serve my country.”

  “When do you leave for basic training?”

  “I'm already packed. I leave for basic on the first bus out of here tomorrow.”

  Meghan's voice was breaking. “Tomorrow? So soon? I won't even have a chance to say goodbye.”

  “Aw, don't be sad. It's not goodbye. I'll still be around, and I'll write to you everyday. You can tell me all about your dating adventures.”

  “And you'll call me
or email me as often as you can? And pen me letters, right?”

  Willie laughed. “I will. I promise. It might not be every day though, Meghan, but I will. I swear I will. I'll be in Fort Hood, Texas, for training, but after that I'll be in either Korea or Germany. I'll know for sure after training where I'm going.”

  “I'll miss you.”

  “I'll miss you, too, hon. But don't go getting all emotional, you hear? I'll message you when I can. And remember, this isn't goodbye.”

  “Okay,” said Meghan. “I love you.”

  “I know. You've always been like a sister to me. I love you, too. We'll talk soon.”

  With that, Willie disconnected the call refusing to say goodbye.

  Despite missing Willie all of the time, the next few months that she spent with Alex were incredibly amazing. Alex had never been so enamored with a woman before. On days when she knew Meghan was off, she would show up to surprise her with breakfast. Sometimes it was fast food like tacos or bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits and hash browns. Other times it was with a half gallon of milk and a box of cereal. A few times, it was cheeseburgers and fries from the local Tasty Burger. Meghan always smiled when she heard the doorbell and opened the door to find that Alex was standing there with her heart in her hands disguised as a breakfast meal. It was nice to know that Alex was making every effort to court her. She was both sweet and charming and thoughtful and romantic. She seemed almost too good to be true. Where have you been all my life? Meghan had wondered.

  The evening and weekend dates were equally as fun and spontaneous. One night Alex phoned out of breath. “Get dressed. We're going out.” was all she said.

  “What should I wear?” asked Meghan before Alex hung up.

  “Something dressy. Be there in fifteen minutes.” Alex disconnected the call.

  When Alex finally arrived to pick up Meghan, Meghan was in a black gown and heels with her hair up. “Too much?” she asked when she noticed Alex was staring with her mouth agape.

  Alex shook her head. “No, not at all. You're gorgeous.” Alex was wearing dress pants and a nice button down shirt with a dark blazer. In her hands, she carried a bouquet of a dozen red roses. She handed them to Meghan. “These are for you.”

  Meghan took the roses and inhaled the sweet fragrance. “They smell wonderful. What's the occasion?”

  “It's our anniversary,” replied Alex.

  “It is?” Meghan raised her eyebrows in surprise.

  Alex nodded. “Yes, ma'am. It's officially been six months since we've been seeing each other.”

  “I guess it has. It's gone by so fast. I hadn't even thought about it.” Meghan shut the front door and locked it.

  Alex held her arm out and Meghan wrapped her arm in hers. Together they walked down the walkway toward the Jeep. Alex opened the door for Meghan and allowed her to sit and get comfortable before shutting the door carefully.

  When Alex went around to the driver's side door and entered the vehicle, Meghan grinned and glanced down at the roses before turning to Alex. “Are you aware that one of these roses is artificial? Only eleven of them are real.”

  Alex was relieved that Meghan had noticed before they were on the road. She turned to Meghan and took her hand in hers. “That's because roses are always a gift of love and romance, but roses always die. I'm giving you these dozen roses with all my heart and all my love. From here on, until the end of time, I vow that I'm going to love you until the last rose dies.”

  It was by far the sweetest and most romantic thing that Meghan had ever heard another woman say to her. She was overcome with emotions, and tears began to stream down her cheeks. “I love you, Alex.” It was the first time in six months that she had uttered the words, even though she felt it almost immediately after dating.

  “I love you, too,” replied Alex. “I knew you were going to be someone special in my life the moment I met you.”

  The drive wasn't more than twenty minutes. Before Meghan knew it, she was walking up the steps arm in arm of the Municipal Art Center while the valet took Alex's car to be parked in the garage.

  “Welcome to the Municipal Art Center, ma'am. I hope you enjoy the ballet,” said a man that opened the door for them. He was dressed in a military style uniform with big brass buttons adorning his coat. It made Meghan think of a band uniform that had been worn by the marching band at her university.

  She entered the auditorium with her eyes wide with astonishment. She had never seen anything so beautiful before. She had lived all her life in that town and had never once been to the ballet. The auditorium had glass chandeliers and what looked like oil paintings on the dome ceiling. The balconies on either side of the theater were nearly filled with people that were finely dressed in tuxedos and expensive gowns. “I feel under dressed,” she whispered. “My dress isn't nearly as nice as what people are wearing.”

  “You shouldn't,” replied Alex as she looked at Meghan with love and admiration. “You look stunning. You're the most beautiful woman in here.”

  Meghan smiled, but looked down at the ground bashfully. “I'm sure that's not true.”

  “You are to me,” answered Alex lifting Meghan's chin with her thumb and forefinger. Meghan felt overwhelmed with love and thought that Alex was going to kiss her, but before she could, they were interrupted by the usher that was helping people to their seats.

  “Tickets?” asked the usher.

  Alex handed the man her tickets and watched him closely as he adjusted his eyeglasses and perused the tickets carefully. “Hmm..” he said. “Ah, yes. You'll have to take the elevator up one level to the balcony. The usher upstairs will direct you to your seats.”

  “Thank you,” said Alex. She took the tickets from the usher and pointed to the balcony box seating nearest the stage. “You see those seats?”

  “Yes.”

  “That's where we'll be.”

  Meghan felt her heart leap in her chest. She never imagined that their seats would be so close to the stage. She would practically be above the stage viewing every step, every move. She followed Alex down the hall and into the elevator. She found that she couldn't wipe the smile from her face. Alex had made her the happiest woman on the face of the Earth. She didn't think anyone else could ever compare to her. She had no doubt in her mind. One day, she would marry Alex and be her bride. It was an absolute certainty. She didn't know when it was going to happen, but she knew it would. It had to. Alex was the one woman that had won her completely mind, body, and soul.

  After her dates with Alex, she often penned a hand-written letter to Willie, so that she could share her experience. She did the occasional video chat when Willie had free time to use the computer, but, for the most part, Willie said that she was a guard. She stood watch over missiles and tanks and other things that needed to be protected from possible theft or damage.

  Meghan loved hearing from her and seeing her and writing to her on pretty stationary that she could spray with perfume to make other soldiers wonder who Willie was receiving letters from. It had been Willie's idea, naturally, but she enjoyed hearing Willie's stories about her friends attempts to try to take the letters away from her so they could read them or smell the perfume. It made her laugh because it seemed to be the only thing that made Willie come alive again when they talked. She was glad that Willie hadn't changed much after training. She hadn't become hardened or cold. She was still the same old, fun person she was when she left. Meghan hoped she would stay that way.

  Chapter Twelve

  On other dates, Alex often took time off to make sure to take Meghan to dinner at fancy five star restaurants and spent much time taking her to wine tasting events, the symphony, and Broadway musicals such as Cats, Les Miserables, and Phantom of the Opera.

  Meghan absolutely adored the ambiance, the way the theater made things come alive on stage. It gave her that same feeling of joy that it did when she spoke to Willie and her tales of pranks she had played on friends made her come alive with laughter. She loved that she could
spend time with Alex doing something new and different but at the same time, it carried with it the memory of her friend that she missed so much.

  Not only that, but she loved the way she could get all dressed up to feel like a princess that was being taken out to a ball. She never felt as if she had to rush home or be turned into a pumpkin because Alex was real. She was a real fairy tale come true.

  Meghan's favorite Broadway musical had been Phantom of the Opera. The story about the woman caring for two men, one being the Phantom and the other being the man she loved, and being torn between them pulled at her heart strings. She felt the heartache in the play, and during some of the songs, she became so filled with emotion that tears filled her eyes.

  The next six months after that were filled with many romantic evenings. It was much more than theater and Broadway. Alex decided to take a new security job working days, so that she could have more nights free to be with Meghan. Each night together was spent falling more and more in love with one another. Some nights it was romantic picnics, other nights it was fishing at the local watering hole, and a couple of nights it was skinny dipping at midnight at the lake. Alex didn't always do dinner and a movie type dates. Although she loved seeing Meghan dress up in gowns, she also loved being adventurous and believed in going out of her way to make fun adventure-filled fond memories that would last a lifetime.

  One night Meghan was finally able to star gaze with Alex like she had always wanted. Alex prepared a homemade meal and packed it into a picnic basket. She took a bottle of champagne with her and a blanket and set the blanket out in the grass near a large white farmhouse that was on a lake. Alex had taken her to the property before, but had done nothing more than walk around during the day or sit on a nearby bench to watch the water and the ducks. Alex loved the home and often admired it, but they always left when the owner was home.