CHAPTER 1
The sun is shining brightly and I can feel the warmth of its rays on my back as I sit next to Vera on a park bench. She has two scoops of ice cream on a cone. She catches me watching her and shyly turns away out of embarrassment. Then she peers back at me with her beautiful eyes.
"Why didn't you get an ice cream? If you need money you can have some of mine," she says sweetly.
"No, I have all I want right here," I say and I wrap my arms around her waist and she gets so startled she starts to drop her cone, but I catch it saving it from the ground and hand it back to her. We watch kids playing and a dog jumping for a Frisbee. She finishes her ice cream and takes me by the hand and leads me over to a shady spot on the grass underneath a tree. She gives me a little kiss on the cheek while her long fingers touch my face. She looks into my eyes and says nothing. Then she tilts my head to a certain angle of her liking.
"Hold still. I'm going to draw you…just like that." She has had inspiration and so she scurries a few feet away and starts drawing. She studies me with intensity, every so often looking up. I'm so embarrassed. She's drawn me before but somehow it's never felt so personal. I feel so on display here at the park having this angel watching me. She scolds me for moving and tells me that she'll have to send me back to modeling school if I don't hold still, but I'm having trouble looking in the direction she wants me to, because I want to look at her. I hear her pencil on the art pad and the familiar rhythmic scratching creates erotic sensations in me. I want her. I squirm a little and again she orders me to hold still saying she's almost finished. When she's done she surveys her work with a tip of her head and seeming satisfied she grabs her pad and brings it over to show me. Kneeling beside me she shows me an illustration of my profile and torso. I don't think it looks like me. I'm not nearly that attractive. I say so and she giggles and whispers in my ear, "I think you don't know how beautiful you are."
She sets her art pad aside and we kiss. I lean her against the tree and start kissing her face, her neck, her arms. She's making these little sounds that are driving me wild. "Vera, I love you." She smiles and we kiss more and the world starts shaking. And shaking and shaking.
"Polly, Polly get up."
It's Trucy and she's shaking me awake. I figure something terrible has happened.
"Oh, my God. What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Polly."
"Then what are you doing in my room?"
"I just need you to take this to Vera. She holds up a basket that has a thermos in it, some oranges, and some t-bags. "I made her some chicken soup. She's sick and you need to go take care of her. It'll give you a chance to apologize for standing her up, too."
I was never gonna live that down. Why had I done that?
"Why don't you go? I'll check on her later."
"I can't. I've got class." I could never keep Trucy's school schedule straight. She was in some kind of alternative school program, but Trucy had picked up her father's habit of not burdening me with details so I was never sure when she needed to be elsewhere.
"Fine, fine. I'll get dressed."
"No, don't dress just go as you are."
"I'm not going to visit Vera in only my boxer shorts."
"Oh." Trucy looked embarrassed. "Well I mean don't dress fancy, like for work. Remember she's sick- she won't be dressed. She's in bed. Here's the key. I gotta go…and Polly don't blow it this time."
I sat there in bed holding the key. Phoenix was legally overseeing Vera like a kind of guardian while she was under house arrest making sure she met the requirements for her probation. I was pretty sure that this key was for emergencies not for booty calls designed by Trucy, but I figured if Vera really was sick she probably should have somebody check up on her since she lived all alone.
So I pulled on a pair of flannel pajama pants and a white t-shirt and grabbed the care package and headed upstairs.
At Vera's door I slid the key in the lock and timidly stepped inside her apartment. The living room with its adjoining kitchen was very neat and tidy, but had a certain cozy charm to it. A little couch sat facing the TV and a large bookcase was cluttered with antique and vintage books. The walls were decorated by framed illustrations from children's books and mobiles of modern art hung from the ceilings. In one corner of the dining area her easel sat and in the middle of the little dining table sat a large goldfish in a bowl.
Entering Vera's home felt like walking into an artist's palette. Colors were everywhere. I found comforting, soothing in a way.
"Vera, vera? It's me Apollo. I brought you some soup."
I heard coughing from the bedroom.
"I'm coming in." Stepping into her bedroom I found her curled up under a huge pile of blankets. Every afghan, throw, and blanket she had must have been on top of her, in yet she was still shivering.
She smiled at me and started coughing a little at first and then a lot until she was violently shaking and reaching her hands out as if groping for air. I dashed back out to the kitchen and grabbed a cup of water and I brought it to her. She was coughing so hard I had to sit on the bed next to her and help guide the glass to her lips. After a minute or two her eyes quit watering and she was able to speak.
"Thanks." She said and weakly smiled.
"Trucy made you some chicken soup. I'll get you some." I poured some of the soup into a coffee mug and helped prop Vera up with some pillows so she could drink her soup while sitting in the bed.
She sipped at the soup and warmed her hands on the cup.
"You really shouldn't be here. I'll get you sick."
But instead of leaving I sat down on the bed next to her. She seemed too weak to protest. I looked at her, even with her hair unbrushed and her mouth slightly ajar to make it easier for her to breathe she looked gorgeous to me. While she sipped her broth I looked around her room. Like the living room there was a lot of art. I wondered how many of these were her works and how many were those of artist's she admired. I noticed one that was of a man's arm. It caught my eye because of the glimmering gold bracelet. Thinking I had been her muse made me think about my dream and I found myself worrying she could read my thoughts and know just how hard it was to just sit beside her…alone…in her bedroom.
"Hah-hah-hah-HAH chue!" The force of her sneeze caused her to shake her cup and she spilt broth all down her front and the blankets.
I got a towel from the bathroom and she tried to clean up her shirt and her blankets, but she was pretty much a mess. So, I excused myself so she could change into a different nightgown. She met me in the living room dressed in a purple nightgown and sky blue ballet slippers.
She sighed, "I can't draw or paint or anything. You wanna stay and watch TV? I'm really bored." There wasn't much good on, but snuggling up next to her on the couch made me happy. Trucy had been right someone did need to be checking on Vera even though it seemed she only had a cold. It was a bad one, and I could tell it took most of her energy to get up to go to the bathroom.
She nodded off during a sitcom rerun and I started to get too hot under the five million blankets we had piled on top of us so I got up from the couch and went to the fridge to get something to drink.
Unlike at our place, her cupboards and fridge were well stocked but I noticed one thing that seemed odd to me. Inside the fridge was a dinner plate full of food that was starting to mold. Vera's house was very tidy. I figured having never gone outside for so many years led her to really like a nice orderly environment. So what was with the nasty food? I pulled it out and started to scrape it into the garbage can. The smell was horrible, but as I peeled the rotten food off the plate I recognized what one of the side dishes was. It was one of my favorites, carrot and raisin salad. I remembered then that several weeks ago Trucy had been quizzing me on my favorite foods. I had mentioned how one of my foster moms used to make this carrot and raisin salad I loved. She must have told Vera so Vera could make it for me, but the dinner I was supposed to have had with Vera was like two weeks ago!
I glanced back at Vera to make sure she was still asleep. I couldn't believe I had stood her up. She had made a special dinner just for me and I hadn't even shown up or called. What an ass I was and I had no good excuse. There had been no emergency, no case development that couldn't wait, no more important plans. I had thought I was doing the right thing. Trying to make her not like me, but I couldn't pretend. I did really like her. I promised myself than when she woke up we'd talk about it.
While Vera slept I thought I'd be helpful and do something nice for her, but the dishes were done and nothing looked out of place so I helped myself to a book off her bookcase and sat and read in the recliner until she came to.
"You're still here?" She commented groggily. "You should go. I'm sure you have more important stuff to do than hangout with me all day. It's just a cold. I'll survive."
Her saying that brought back to my mind the panic that had swept over me when she had collapsed in the courtroom. It would have been horrible to have any client nearly die during a trial, but the thought of losing her had made me go beside myself with worry. She was so young- she was supposed to have so much life left.
"Um, Vera about the other day…when I was supposed to come to dinner and-"
"You flaked on me?" she provided helpfully with a little smile.
"I'm really sorry."
"You've been avoiding me and I don't understand why." Vera was a woman of few words, but when she spoke she chose her words with precision. No messing around here.
I took a deep sigh. It was obvious to me that I was going to have to admit my feelings for her. I couldn't lie, not to her.
"I can't lie to you so I've been avoiding you."
She remained quiet other than the occasional sniffle.
"See I like you I really, really" CRAP!! Don't come on to strong, Polly. Tone it down or she'll run out the door cold or no cold. "Do, but you're young and you haven't you know had a lot of experiences yet-"
"So this is about sex?" I about fell out of the chair. Vera was such an angel to me that hearing a vulgar word like sex come from her mouth threw me for a spin.
"No, no it isn't that. I'm not um…that knowledgeable either…I mean I've never had a girlfriend"
A hint of a smile appeared on Vera's lips and she grabbed her box of tissues and wiped her nose.
I was trying to explain a concept to her that even my own brain hadn't fully grasped onto and then finally it hit me.
"I'm worried I'm being selfish."
She looked surprised. I could tell that this was not what she had expected.
"What I mean is you didn't get to get out and see the world and live the way most people do and so you haven't met a lot of people and I'm worried that's why you're interested in me."
Vera started laughing and was forced to wave her hand indicating to me she needed another glass of water. After she recovered she said, "Don't make me laugh. It hurts too much!"
"Why are you laughing? This is serious." I said annoyed.
"Oh, you sound just like when you're in the courtroom." And then she mumbled something into her Kleenex that sounded like she said she thought my courtroom talk was sexy, but it could have been my imagination.
"You think because I haven't dated a bunch of guys I don't know who I like? Polly, that's not very nice."
It was the first time she had ever called me Polly. I sat there taking all this in. She liked me and I was attracted to her, so what was the problem?
"Well, I just don't want you to be with me just cause it's comfortable or convenient.'
"Convenient guys don't stand the girl they like up for dinner." Touché. "There is such a thing as text messaging, you know."
I laughed. I realized there was another layer to Vera I hadn't seen before. She wasn't the delicate little flower I thought she was. She was a passionate, strong willed woman like Maya or Trucy she just had different ways of expressing herself. That must be what gave her such amazing artistic abilities.
"So, does this mean if I ask you out, that you'll say no?" Vera asked. I felt like I was in the courtroom being ensnared by one of Prosecutor Gavin's carefully planned legal strategies.
"No, I would say yes."
Vera smiled. "Good because I think we should go out on a date."
"Kay. After you get better. We'll date, but not exclusively. You meet somebody else you're free to do what you wish."
"Ok. That's fine, but I wouldn't worry. Men aren't exactly lining up at my door."
They would if they knew you.
She smiled.
CRAP!! Had I said that out loud or did she really have the ability to read my thoughts?
Her voice was sounding more strained and she started sneezing a bunch again so I encouraged her to close her eyes and again she drifted off to sleep. I carried her into bed and tucked her in. I found a pad of paper and a pen and left her a note.
"Gone home to let you sleep. I'll come check on you tomorrow morning. Love, Apollo."
CHAPTER 2
"What do you mean I can't take her? Phoenix? You were OK with her going out dancing with Maya and Trucy."
We were in the midst of an office "staff meeting" which essentially means that all of us living at the office sit down and discuss important issues affecting the businesses or our communal living situation. The topics of recent meetings had included Trucy's proposal that we buy a bigger fridge or set a limit on how much grape juice Phoenix was allowed to put in our fridge at one time and all of us pressuring Phoenix to appeal the bar's decision that he would need to retake the bar exam before legally practicing law again. Usually these meetings were civil, but this time the meeting had descended into a shouting match between me and Phoenix with the girls trying to interject what probably would have been reasonable comments, but we we're bothering ourselves to listen.
"I'm doing this for both of us and for Vera. Just the other day you were all bugging me to get my attorney's badge again, well I can't do that if I'm violating the law letting Vera leave here while she's supposed to be under house arrest. They are going to be watching this place like a hawk!"
"BUT I'M HER LAWYER! I have a legal right to meet my client."
"Yes, to meet with her at the office or at the detention center and that's where she'll end up if you do this. Do you know what will happen to your reputation if somebody sees you together?"
"It can't be worse than having a law partner who lost his license for forging evidence and has been living like a hobo ever since!"
I heard Trucy gasp. I had crossed the line- that line we all silently observed out of respect for Phoenix's feelings. We tried never to say or do anything to call attention to Phoenix's lack of achievements over the last seven years. His behavior over those years was disturbing to a lot of people who had known the former hotshot attorney before his "fall" and my belief was that if he hadn't adopted Trucy and had her to help take care of him he would have been on the streets by now.
"Polly, say you're sorry to Daddy! Right now!" Trucy was pissed. I wasn't sure whose side she had been on, but it was obvious that now I was in the minority. I would have to tell Vera that we couldn't go away to the beach for the weekend like I'd planned.
"Sorry, Apollo. I know this means a lot to you, but you're not using your head." I caught the subtle insinuation there from Phoenix and glared at him. Maybe spending years in some weird off again, on again long distance relationship was OK for him, but not for me.
"Well, great. Just great. The hotel rooms are non-refundable." I was going to be out a bundle, a crap-load, a-
"Wait, Polly what was that you said…" asked Maya.
I answered angrily, "I said that I can't get my money back."
"No, that other thing...how many rooms did you get?"
"Two." They all looked at me with surprise.
"It's our first official date. I didn't want her to feel pressured! What kind of perv do you think I am?" I snapped indignantly. I put my head in my hands, so much for a romantic first date.
"I have the best idea!" Maya said hopping up and throwing herself at Nick as if he'd just agreed to watch an entire Pink Princess Marathon with her.
Maya's idea was simple. We would trade our plans for the weekend. Maya and Phoenix had wanted Pearly to come for a visit, but instead they would meet Pearl at the beach. Maya and Phoenix would have one room and Trucy and Pearls would have the other. It would be a perfect little getaway for all of them and it would give Vera and I some much needed privacy.
"Then Polly could have some time and space so him and Vera could, you know…" she grinned a mischievous grin that made me embarrassed. Could everyone read my thoughts?
"Well, that sounds good, but how much did these rooms cost? We'll need to pay Apollo back for them."
I pulled the receipt out of my wallet and Trucy shook her head at me, "You, sir, have been holding out on the Refrigerator Fund."
CHAPTER 3
I helped Phoenix, Maya, and Trucy carry their bags out to the cab. It seemed to me like a lot of bags for only one weekend away, but Pheonix just shrugged and said that neither of his girls knew how to travel light. To which Maya had pretended to slap Nick for not knowing that all those Steel Samurai DVDs and bags of potato chips were in fact essential items to having a great vacation with Pearl.
I tried to apologize to Phoenix for what I had said during the "staff meeting", but he just shook his head to indicate he didn't think an apology was necessary.
"We'll be back Sunday night," he patted me on the shoulder and then with a knowing look said, "Have a good weekend."
"You too."
He groaned, "Not likely. With Pearly, Trucy and Maya together I'll probably come back with my toe nails painted and knowing all the words to the Gavinner's songs." He made a frumpy face, but I could tell he was really excited. He had a certain glow of pride when he talked about "his girls" and it had been a long time since he had gotten to see Pearly.
"Bye, Polly!! Give Vera a big ole smooch for me!" Trucy yelled out the car window as they pulled away.
The office wasn't exactly the den of romance I figure most women would look forward to coming to, but I tried to spruce it up a little. We don't have a dining room, so I pushed the couches back and set up a card table and covered it with a fancy tablecloth I had borrowed from Trucy's performance stuff. Borrowing things from Truce always worried me a little. I kept thinking that maybe some spring loaded snakes were going to jump out at me or something, but fortunately they all seemed to be normal items. I set a vase of multicolored flowers in the middle of the table and I lit a couple candles on the table and around the room. I didn't want it to look like I was trying too hard or coming on too strong, since it was our first date but I wanted so badly for it to be special and the fact we were literally under house arrest was making that challenging.
I imagined Vera being bored and restless with hanging out in our building, but when Vera arrived she was all smiles. She was dressed in a purple blouse and grey slacks with a flared leg and some kind of heels that made her a little taller. She looked like she could be a sexy new lawyer, but I knew she was way too nice to be a lawyer and she was carrying with her an art pad not a briefcase.
She held her head slightly downward, as if embarrassed to look me in the eye. I ran over and lifted her chin and smiled at her.
"Sorry it's not the beach. I mean I know it's not very exciting."
But she smiled at me. "It's lovely, Polly. By candlelight it feels different."
It was then I realized that Vera experienced the world differently than most of us. For her it was about textures, tones, hues. While the rest of us bustle about our daily routine barely giving a mind to the world around us, she viewed the world around her like a work of art, perceiving things about her surroundings all the time the way I perceive things about people on the stand in the courtroom.
"I'm glad you're better. I'm sorry you caught my cold."
"Oh, it was no big deal." This was so not true. That had been the worst cold I had ever had. My chest had been so sore from coughing and I had never realized that the human body could produce that much mucus, but I didn't think we needed to discuss it over dinner. Vera seemed to know I was deliberately downplaying this.
"Well, it was really nice of you to keep an eye on me. Maybe it wasn't that bad for you, but I had a TERRIBLE time," she said
I had a strong impulse to kiss her, but instead I headed into the kitchen.
"I got us some food from Tres Bien. Hopefully, there's something you like. I'm not even sure what half this stuff is. The menu was in French."
As we ate our dinner Vera was silent and I started panicking that maybe she wasn't having a good time. Maybe I was boring to be around, it wouldn't surprise me really. I sure couldn't come up with anything to say, but then she spoke.
"Thanks so much for this and thank Mr. Phoenix for letting us have the place to ourselves." It was SOOO cute how she called him Mr. Phoenix. "I mean I feel bad. We could have had dinner at my place."
I shook my head. "No, I didn't want you to feel obligated to cook. You've already done that once." I felt so guilty.
"I've forgiven you. You're a hard person to stay mad at." She had to be the most understanding person on the planet.
"I've never had a candlelight dinner before, well except for a couple of times when the power went out, but I don't think eating cold beans out of cans with your dad counts."
"I never really got to tell you how sorry I am about your dad."
"Yeah, it's crazy. You know how fragile everything is. All those years his death was right there… like it was in…suspended animation or something…isn't that what they call it in those sci-fi shows? I guess we were living on borrowed time…"
It was dim, but I was pretty sure she was starting to cry. I walked over to her and knelt by her chair. She turned toward me.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be thinking about this right now…"
"No, Vera it's OK."
She smiled that small smile of hers and I leaned into it and kissed her. I had meant to just kiss and pull away, but as soon as we connected her hands were on the back of my head in my hair holding us together. She stood up and I took her by the hand over to the couch and we sat next to each other kissing. She started telling me more about her life, punctuating all her sentences with kisses and gentle touches. She felt wonderful.
She told me about her pet fish, Henry the Magnificent who was a gift from her father. She had really wanted a dog, a little terrier of some kind, but her dad had worried a puppy would have destroyed her art supplies so he had gotten her a fish.
She told me about her favorite book all about wizards that cast a spell on a girl and boy enabling them to fly to other realms.
She told me she could hardly wait until she could go to the big library downtown. She hadn't been there since she was really little. She told me that was where she had first found the book about the enchanted realms and another book that had inspired her to become an artist.
It was the most I'd ever heard her talk and it was all so cool. Her stories were so vivid. I felt like I was right there with her touching the book's spines or reading to Henry the Magnificent.
"I'm sorry. I'm doing all the talking."
I laughed, "Oh, no I like hearing about your life, besides nobody can monopolize a conversation like Maya."
"What about you? Tell me stuff about you- stuff I don't know. Things that would surprise me."
I couldn't think of what to say so I just started telling her about my bracelet. Somehow she took it how I expected. She nodded and asked questions. She took my hand in hers and looked at it closely.
"I'm not surprised. There's definitely something special about it. Kind of like some kind of ancient magic or something. I think that's why I kept dreaming about it. That's why I painted it."
"And here I was hoping it was because of my muscular arms."
"Well, that helps, too," and she pecked me on the hand.
She told me we could research information on the bracelet and that it might be the link that would help me find out about my past, but I had to admit to her that I wasn't too worried about my past. "I like living here with the Wrights, though I don't know what's going to happen after they get married…"
"I'm so glad I met you. Sometimes I feel bad because I'm not sure I would have met you if Dad hadn't died."
She looked deep into my eyes and said, "So glad."
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her. She leaned back on the couch and I was on top of her kissing her lips, her neck. Her hands were running through my hair again with the same rhythmic movement with which she handled her brush or pencil. My eyes were closed but I could see myself in my mind's eye. Her hands on me, her lips connected with mine, my hands behind her back pulling her into me. It was amazing. I always thought it must be awkward this whole making out business, but with her it was perfect. I was leaning into her and then I felt her lips on my neck and I leaned back. I wanted her to kiss me everywhere.
Then I panicked. Earth to Polly, earth to Polly. What was I doing? We needed to take things slow.
"This is your first date," I told myself. "Slow down." I pulled myself off her and forced myself to the other end of the couch. How had Phoenix survived this with Maya for so long- he must be a mutant. If I got close to Vera I felt like I was magnetized to her. Like a tractor beam caught me and wouldn't let me go.
"What's wrong, Polly?" She said following me to my sanctuary at the other end of the couch. How to explain it? How to tell her that I wanted her more than anything else in this world? Maybe more than air…but that I didn't want to hurt her. I didn't want us to get carried away, even though a part of me really wanted to. That I was dangerously near to the threshold of carrying her off to the other room…
"I'm trying to be good." I said and I must have sounded a little unhappy about it, because she giggled.
"I think it is good." She whispered in my ear and I felt shivers go up and down me. "Are you worried I think you do this with all your clients?"
I laughed. The only other client that popped into my mind was Wocky Kitaki.
Truth is I wasn't just worried I mind lose control with her. I was concerned that she would interpret my lack of restraint as either disrespect for her or realize the truth my actions revealed, which was that I was crazy about her. Absolutely head over heals.
I was sure she must in actuality be human and have some flaw or annoying habits. It was inevitable that at some time we would fight and make each other cry, but I didn't care. She was my angel and I knew right than I would do anything for her. Anything. I had met the woman of my dreams…
"Polly, what are you thinking about?" Oh, surely I couldn't tell her this. After all I'm the one that had insisted on no commitments. What a joke! I felt like I might kill the next guy who looked in her direction. Men are such filthy creatures, myself included, and to think the thoughts I was having about such an angel…
"Polly?" She looked at me with a bemused expression.
"Oh, I was just thinking how beautiful you are."
She crawled into my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me again.
"Why, Mr. Justice? I do believe you are blushing!"
Oh, Vera. You're torturing me and I'm loving it.
Then she yawned and I realized I had no idea what time it was. The candles had burnt way down and we had been talking… and doing other things for hours.
"It's late…"
"Yeah, I guess it is," she said resting her head against my chest as she spooned up next to me with her body. "Can I stay here with you?"
"Sure, but you're probably going to be pretty uncomfortable sleeping in that.." oh, great now it sounded like I wanted her to strip. "I mean you might want to go upstairs and change."
She shook her head; "I don't want to go back to my place until the others are back- if that's OK." I wasn't sure if she realized they were going to be gone all weekend, but I didn't say anything. She could leave whenever she wanted or stay as long as she liked.
"Maybe you could borrow something of Trucy's."
She didn't seem to want to leave my arms, but finally she pulled herself away. She went into Trucy's room and came back wearing a big baggy t-shirt dress. I went to change into some pajamas and when I came back she was asleep on the couch and I lay down beside her and thought that I must be the luckiest person in the whole world.
CHAPTER 4
The next morning I woke up a little disoriented. At first I couldn't remember why I was on the couch or why I was so happy and then I saw her. She was still asleep and I just sat there looking at her for a while before I went to make coffee. A few minutes later she came padding into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around me.
"That's the best I've slept in SOOO long," she said stretching. She grinned at me. "Maybe I've found the cure for my insomnia." I moved in to kiss her. But she pulled away and her eyes turned downward.
"Is something wrong?" I was worried. What had I done? Is it possible to sleep-grope someone?
"I'm just embarrassed."
I grinned, "Embarrassed you slept with me on the first date?"
She laughed, "Something like that I guess. You know, it's funny.'
"What?"
"Well, if we were younger living with our parents and they came in and found us like that what would we say?"
I wasn't quite sure what she was getting at.
"We'd say 'nothing' happened and we'd be telling the truth to most people, but something did happen didn't it? I mean I feel different."
I hoped it wasn't a bad different.
Please, don't tell me you're having second thoughts. Please, I'm so in love with you.
"Different? How?"
She smiled broadly and laughed, "Like I want you even more now. Will you please be my boyfriend?"
I knew I should have said no. I knew that life would probably pull us apart. She was so young…but instead I just kissed her and held her closer as if by holding her close I could will the world from getting in the way of our romance.
We spent the day listening to music, she drew and I talked about anything that came to mind. That afternoon I ran up to her apartment for food. I fed Henry the Magnificent and we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches till our bellies were full and then we popped popcorn and watched a movie that neither one of us could follow because we kept getting distracted by more…um… pressing matters.
That night we ate spaghetti and had popsicles for desert and as we kissed the scent of her strawberry popsicle permeated my scenes. I pulled away from her sighing deeply.
"I'm being good. I'm being good." I quietly chanted to myself.
"Well, I'm not going to be." Her angel eyes were staring into mine and she was smiling. "Polly, you don't know what may happen tomorrow. I've learned the hard way it's important to live while you can. I'm excited about doing new things and I want to share some of these new experiences with you."
Wow!
My heart was beating fast. But I shook my head. I wasn't sure if she knew what she was doing.
"Vera, there is plenty of time. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You don't need to rush."
She shook her head. "Polly, you need to get out of your mind that I'm some little girl just cause I was living with my dad. I'm nineteen. My mom and dad got married at nineteen. I'm old enough to know what I want. And I love you. And I want you."
I was sure I was about to wake up. Surely this was another one of those torturous dreams of mine…
She looked me in the eyes and said, "Polly, don't you think it's about time you let somebody take care of you?" She took my hand and led me through the curtain door to my room.
The best days of my life were followed by the best night of my life. And I felt like I could do anything.
CHAPTER 5
The next morning Vera rolled over and kissed me on the cheek. Her skin felt so soft against mine. I pulled her next to me and we snuggled in silence until our stomachs were rumbling so bad we had to get out of bed to get some breakfast.
The day went faster than the others. I put on some music while I cleaned up the dishes and she came over and pulled me into the office to slow dance. I never wanted that moment to end, but I got a text message from Trucy:
Be home in about 5 minutes.
"That's them isn't it?"
I nodded.
"I better go. I'm too embarrassed to let them know I've been here with you all weekend."
"I think the grin on my face will give us away."
"Probably," she said touching my face.
"I'll walk you upstairs."
So in front of her door I kissed her again and it was her turn to pull away. She put her hand on my chest, prying her lips off mine. "Love you." She said as she closed the door.
I stood there in front of her door enjoying the resonance of heat and sweet smells her body left there. I took a deep sigh. Oh, I had it BAD. I tried to lessen my smile and prepared myself for the onslaught of prying questions I knew would be coming from Trucy as soon as she walked in the door.
Back in the office, Trucy burst in with at least four bags strapped onto her body followed by Maya who had a bag of hamburgers in one hand and was rolling a suitcase behind her with the other. Phoenix was behind them trying to act the part of a curmudgeon complaining about the weight of Maya's luggage, but he looked refreshed.
Trucy was grinning from ear to ear, "So, how'd dinner with Vera go? Or should I say dinners?" I blushed. "I know you just walked her up to her room."
"You guys look cute dancing together," Maya said with approval.
I glared at them. Couldn't a guy get any privacy?
"Where'd you text me from across the street?"
Truce nodded. I rolled my eyes.
"Well, I meant to call from the burger place, but when they told us they were out of pickles I got distracted…" Maya explained apologetically.
I went to help Phoenix with the rest of the bags and he grinned, "Take it you had a good weekend."
"Yeah, really good." I said enthusiastically.
"Me, too," he said smiling mischievously. "Me too… but the fun stops now."
"What?!"
"Well, I have a bar exam to study for and I'm going to need your help."
"I thought you were going to appeal the decision?"
"I was. I mean I think the bar's wrong- I shouldn't have to retest, but the appeal process will take too long. I've already wasted too much time. You never know what could happen tomorrow."
"That's funny! You're the second person that's told me that this weekend."
Phoenix just smiled and said, "Vera is a very wise girl. Take care of her."
And I intended to. For as long as she'd have me.