Allison had been out in the rain all day working on the inn. The sun had set so she figured it was time to end her work for the day. It seemed forever ago when her life changed with the decision to abandon her disowning family a year before. To get away she had stowed away on a shipping vessel that was headed for Calynthra, a planet she had heard about in stories as a child. Three months into the trip the ship was stopped by the Galactic Customs Agency and she was discovered. While being escorted off of the ship by the G.C.A. Allison met Private James Pleiades Hawkins, a new recruit into the G.C.A. After being given a sentence of thirty days of community service, she quickly learned that he preferred Jim rather than James and he escorted her to the Benbow Inn where she was to live while serving her punishment. After arriving at the inn she soon discovered that the inn was in fact, owned by Jim and his mother, Sarah. Being on leave for the next three months Jim was to oversee Allison's progress. It soon came apparent that the two had chemistry and they quickly fell in love.
Having nowhere else to go, and secretly being madly in love with Jim, Allison asked Sarah if she could stay and continue working at the Benbow Inn. His mother, seeing her son's attraction to Allison, agreed to take her on as an apprentice. Before Jim left for his yearlong tour he and Allison were married the day before he had to leave. It had been exactly six months from Jim's departure and Allison had begun to think that six more months without him would be a lot harder then she thought.
Wondering where he could be, Allison entered the foyer, pulled off her muddy, water filled boots and left them in a muddy pile inside the doorway. In weather like this Allison had made a habit of wearing Jims old pea coat. The only problem she had with it was when the water started to seep into the jacket. When this happened Jim's pea coat would turn into a sponge and swell so it looked like Allison had gained 40 pounds. Taking off her jacket she found that her sweater had been soaked as well. She pulled it off and threw it on top of the boots and Jim's pea coat.
"Is that you Allison?" she heard Sarah call from the other side of the hall. "Yes, it's getting dark so I'll pick up where I left off tomorrow," Allison called into the large living room around the corner. Focusing on unbuttoning her shirt with her numbed fingers, Allison walked straight into something warm and solid. Realizing it was a person she quickly apologized and briefly glanced up to their face. Returning to her buttons she looked back into the person's face when they deliberately stepped in front of her again.
Having been gone with no promise of return for another six months, Jim was the very last person Allison had expected to see standing in front of her at this moment. "Hi," he coyly said giving her a sly grin. "Jim!" she exclaimed confused to see him. Laughing he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her. "When did you get home? How long are you on planet? And when was the last time you shaved?" Allison fired off going from confusion to worry and then noticing his unruly beard as he had kissed her. "Well, I arrived on planet about an hour ago, I leave Monday morning, and to be honest," he said this last part stroking his scruffy chin, "I don't remember."
"That only gives us a few days. Why didn't you come home earlier?"
"I had to do paperwork. But, I'll tell you about my adventures later. Right now I could really use a good meal and…"
"Okay, I'll go see what we have."
As Allison began to turn away Jim held her hand tighter. Returning to him he said, "…and, a kiss from my wife." Leaning in Allison could feel her heart shoot into her throat as they kissed. Being held tightly in Jim's arms Allison felt his urgency grow as his tongue slowly slid into her mouth. "Jim," she gasped as he eagerly moved to her neck, "stop." Jim stopped suddenly and slowly loosened his grip. Seeing his confusion Allison mouthed 'later' and led him into the kitchen.