She locked her arm around his and she turned and looked at him as they walked down the street. And perhaps that was the first time she really saw him. He had surprisingly shaggy hair for just graduating the academy. It was a golden blonde color, and she could just see the very corners of his blue eyes behind his sunglasses. He wore his cover on top of his head, and a smile so sweet on his lips. He was beautiful. She found it odd to think of a man as such, but he was; he was beautiful.

As they neared the entrance of the restaurant, he noticed a rather large puddle in front of the curb, right in Elizabeth's path. He didn't want her to step into it and risk splashing water over her long dress, plus she was wearing heels... She wasn't paying attention, she was talking about some Supreme Court case she was studying and just as she about stepped in the puddle, and before she could say a word in debate, he smoothly scooped her into his arms and stepped across the puddle, letting her back to her feet up on the sidewalk. She was speechless. She turned to him, her mouth agape.

"What?" He smiled. She just shook her head and smiled. "Very well, then. Shall we?"

He offered her his arm once more and lead her up the few stairs to the entrance. Of course, he had opened the door for her and let her walk before him as he trailed behind. As soon as she stepped into view, Ray noticed that everyone's head turned to her. The girls began whispering to their girlfriends, and the guys were reduced to mindless drones. Every eye in the room was fixated on her. She herself must have noticed, for she spoke over her shoulder to Ray,

"What's going on? What's everyone looking at?"

She honestly sounded quite concerned. Ray stepped closer to her and replied softly into her ear,

"They're looking at you, Elizabeth." She faced him with a questioning look. "How couldn't they?"


They were seated at their table and both started out with a respectable glass of Chardonnay. He was nervous beyond words, couldn't stop fighting with his hands beneath the table, and for the life of him couldn't wipe the smile off of his face. Of course in his mind he knew she must notice how clearly nervous he is, when in reality, in her mind she felt just. Sitting across from him at the table, she felt as if she was making a complete fool of herself, talking too much or too little, laughing at the wrong time, worrying she didn't make any sense of her words. They were both so blind to the simple fact that they were both, utterly and completely, infatuated with one another that they were getting themselves all worked up over nothing.

He couldn't stop looking at her. Looking at the way her eyes sparkled in the midst of the candlelight, the way she bit down on her lip when she tried not to laugh. She also did this thing where every time she swore, she'd cock her right eyebrow. As if it were almost painful to swear but some cases just called for one of the volatile words.

"Can I ask you something?" Elizabeth asked.

Ray set down his drink and sat back in his chair.

"Of course. You can ask me anything."

"What do think about Capital Punishment?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The Death Penalty, do you think it's wrong?"

"You're serious?"

"I am. Yes, I want to hear your take on it. And not because I want to agree or disagree. I simply asked based on curiosity. The subject alone fascinates me. The whole concept of killing people who have kill people to prove that killing people is wrong..." She scoffed. "I want to understand it." He smiled.

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on top the table, lacing his fingers.

"You know, you keep doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Surprising me." She smiled.

"Then surprise me." She said challenging him to hear his opinion. He laughed.

"Very well," he cleared his throat. "The concept of capital punishment is a very, to me...cruel and...unusual in a system that promises to be just the opposite. And honestly in my opinion it's not in the cruelty where the fault lies, it in the fact that we often get it wrong. Innocent people are put to death for crimes they did not commit while the one who should be on the table is walking the streets freely. And that's not a matter of opinion, on multiple occasions the court has gotten it wrong and had the wrong person imprisoned and executed. Take, Cameron Todd Willingham, for example. In 2004 he was executed for killing his three young daughters by setting the house on fire, the only thing was, he was executed on the grounds of faulty forensic evidence. The real evidence showed that in fact the fire was caused by arson. They killed the man when they in fact had scientific proof that the fire was not intentionally set. And do you know what his last words were?" Elizabeth shook her head. "Please clear my name. I did not kill my children." To this day the family is still fighting against the state of Texas for a posthumous pardon. I mean it just absolutely disgusts me. We created this system for the very purpose of Justice, but that's not what's its done. We've abused its power and it's purpose and put innocent lives to death. That's why I have to say my opinion on capital punishment is that is a perverted flaw in the criminal justice system and should not be part."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped and began to smile.

"Wow." She said shaking her head. "How did you know all of that?"

"I studied law in the academy."

"But in the library...why didn't you say anything?"

"You were so...submerged in what you were talking about...so passionate about- I didn't want you to stop."

"You knew exactly what I was talking about..." She realized. "You knew."

"I did..." He admitted.

"Nicely done." She said and he smiled. "You surprised me."


When they finally left the restaurant it was nearly midnight. They just couldn't stop talking. Back and forth and back again about cases and laws…they found true beauty in what others found repulsive- the justice system.

They stood on the curb and waited for the traffic to clear.

"I had a really nice time tonight, I feel like I really got to know you." Elizabeth said.

"And, what's the jury report?" He smiled.

"I'll get back to you on that." He laughed.

"Fair enough."

They grew silent, there was something lingering in the space between them… Ray kept stepping back and forth where he stood and dropped his gaze to his shoes.

"Ray," Elizabeth said noticing his anxiousness. "What's on your mind?"

He looked up from his shoes and met her telegenic blue eyes, he felt a rush a warmth flood his cheeks and his heart tripped over itself like a lousy hurtle runner. And to answer her question, he couldn't, not in just one sentence or in one explanation. There were millions of things on his mind and he could barely get a grasp on a single one, until he opened his mouth and finally came out with,

"I don't want to take you home just yet…." In a quiet sincere voice, "I know its late and you're probably tired and looking forward to getting back home and go to sleep but…..i don't want to let you go."

Elizabeth was quiet for some time, and that frightened him. Way to go Ray, you fucked it up on the first date. He thought to himself. She probably thinks you're some freak.

"Then don't take me home." She said as she stepped closer to him and took his hand. "Where would you like to go?"

"We could go back to my house for a drink? I…I mean…..I didn't want that to sound…I-"

"That sounds lovely." She said

"Yeah?" He smiled.

"Yeah."

"Great."


Ray fumbled with his keys as he unlocked the door, opening it then steeping aside to let her through first. He flicked on the light as he set his keys in the bowl on the table and took off his jacket and his cover and set them on the hooks on the wall right inside the door. She set her purse down on the table beside his keys and stepped out of her heels and began wandering about the small home. All of the naval recruits were issued small homes on base to give them some privacy and also the opportunity to have a place their spouse/kids could live if they were to have either. But since Ray was just a young man himself, no girlfriend, and no living family, it was just him inside these walls. Looking throughout the house however, you'd never now it was a young naval officer who lived here. All throughout the house, on the floor, scattered on tables were manuscripts to screenplays, unfinished letters and random scribblings on parchment. And also on the table sat a ROYAL typewriter. He was a closet writer… Liz ran her hand along the edge of the table as she looked over her shoulder at Ray who sheepishly followed along as she made her way through the house.

Aside from the manuscripts and letters, the house was filled to the brim with books. Books on shelves, books on tables, books splayed open on the floor. There were books on everything. World renowned theories such as John Nash's 'Game Theory' and Steven Hawking's 'The Grand Design'. Other works included classics by Hemingway and Steinbeck, Lawrence and Emerson. He must have had a pension for the more morbid side of poetry and literature as well because he also had an assortment of works by Edgar Allan Poe on his shelves. His collection of literature was more than impressive.

As they stepped into the living area of the house, Elizabeth walked to the center of the floor and picked of one of the books that lay open and took it back to the couch where she took a seat and began flipping through its delicate pages. The couch she sat on was the newest looking thing in the antique shop of a house. It was a rich, milk chocolate colored leather couch. However new it looked, it still had a sort of weathered and worn comfort to it. Beside the couch sat an 'apple crate' that overflowed with knit blankets. On the other side of the couch was an old distressed tiny wooden table. Atop the table sat a lamp, an old black rotary phone and an ash tray. Directly in front of them, in the wall, was a grand fireplace and between them sat a military storage trunk that he was undoubtably using as a coffee table. Liz had never seen anything like it, and however strange she thought it to be, it just fit the rest of the house.

Ray took a seat beside her on the couch and watched as she flicked through the books pages. He peered down at the cover and saw that she had picked up one of his very favorites, it was a book of poems by Edgar Allan Poe. He couldn't help but smile as her eyes roamed over each page before turning to the next. She came to a page and she stopped. He could see that she was reading the poem because she followed along with her lips. She smiled and shook her head.

"wow…" she said quietly. "This is beautiful."

"What is it?" He asked intrigued by what had caught her eye and her heart.

"Annabel Lee." She said. "Do you know it?"

"But our love was stronger by far than the love of those who were older than we," He began reciting from memory. "Of many far wiser than we." Liz looked away from the book and over to him. He was resting his head over the back of the couch, his eyes were closed… "and neither the angels in heaven above, nor the demons down under the sea could ever dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee."

She closed the book audibly and he opened his eyes and turned his head towards the source of the sound. She set the book on the trunk and sat back on the couch, hugging the arm of it and turning her body to face him. They were practically as far apart as one could possibly be on that couch, yet there was a great closeness in the space between them.

"You keep doing that, you know?" She said smiling.

"What?"

"Surprising me." He smiled

"Well," He said. "I hope I continue to."

"Me too." She replied.

Ray got up and fixed himself and her a drink and came back to the couch. He handed her the glass and as soon as he sat down her legs found a home in his lap. At first he was stifled, he didn't know what to do. Then he quickly realized that he was thinking far too much and simply relaxed and let his arm rest over top of them.

"Nobody knows that you write," she said. "do they?" Ray shook his head and lifted his glass to his lips.

"No." He replied. "Nobody's even ever been in here…just you."

"What makes me so special?"

"You're different."

"How so?"

"You know, that's something I'll probably be wondering for the rest a my life." He said. And think I'm okay with that"

"It's not healthy, spending your life chasing after enigmas…"

"I'm not chasing an enigma," He said. "I'm chasing you. And I know it's worth it…you're worth it."


After a few drinks, the night grew longer and Elizabeth's eyes grew heavier. Ray watched from across the couch as her eyes fluttered with each breath she drew. Desperately trying to keep themselves open…but they soon could no longer, and she fell fast asleep, her head rested on the arm, and her legs on his lap. He smiled and watched her for a moment before he carefully lifted her legs from his lap and slipped out from under her and stood up beside the couch. He walked over and retrieved her glass from the table, along with his own and took them out to the kitchen where he rinsed them and placed them in the sink. When he came back in he waited a few moments longer before gently lifting her from the sofa and into his arms. At the very sense of his warmth, she nuzzled her face into the space behind his ear and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He felt such comfort in her embrace and in her soft breaths into his neck. He could feel her heart beat gently into his chest and with each heavenly beat all of his fears crumbled.

He made it up the stairs and down the hall where he quietly pushed open the door to his bedroom and walked to the edge of the bed. As he leaned down, her face brushed softly across his as he lowered her down onto the cool sheets and her arms fell lifelessly from behind his neck. He stretched across her and reached to the other side of the bed and pulled the sheets over top of her. He brushed the hair from her face and then turned to walk away when he felt her hand reach out and touch his arm. He stopped and turned around to her.

"Don't go…" She said barely in whisper. "Stay with me."

He looked down at the floor. He wanted to stay... But he thought it wouldn't be right. She had had a few drinks, she may do something she'll regret in the morning, something she couldn't take back. And he respected her far too much, not just as a lady, but as a person.

"I can't…" He said and walked away.

He paused in the doorway as he grabbed the doorknob. He turned and looked at her one last time.

"Goodnight, Elizabeth." He said and then lowered his voice to a whisper. "My Annabel Lee….." And closed the door.

He didn't see, but just as he closed the door, she opened her eyes. She heard him


Elizabeth came down the stairs the next morning to find Ray awake, sitting at his typewriter with a cup of coffee. He mustn't have heard her come down because when he saw her step into the room she seemed to have startled him.

"Oh my, Elizabeth, you scared me." He said getting up from the table. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Yes, please" she said and he disappeared into the kitchen.

She sat down in his chair at the typewriter. She laughed at the mess of paper strewn about the surface, then she looked at the paper protruding out from the top of the typewriter.

Watching her eyes flutter as they grew heavy,

Hearing her breaths grow softer and softer until finally the last of the light escaped her eyes, feeling her heart beat against mine,

Feeling her breath against my neck…

Holding her in my arms and listening to her whisper

"stay with me."

It was in the small spaces of those moments where I fell madly in love with her.

One week.

That's all it took.

That's all it took for me to fall in love with her.

Mom, I wish you could see her.

She's beautiful.

The most beautiful thing I've ever seen,

and she doesn't even know it.

She has no idea how beautiful she is and I only hope that one day I'll be able to show her.

The way dad showed you.

She's the one…

I love her.

Ray walked back into the room with her coffee and he froze as he saw her sitting at the typewriter. She turned around to him and a tear began to roll down her cheek. He set the mug down on the table and she stood up and fell into his arms.

"I should get going," she said pulling away from his embrace. "My dad's going to be worried."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Do you need a ride? I can give you a ride?"

She wiped her eyes.

"No, no. I'll be fine." She tried to smile, but it wasn't convincing. "Thank you, for the coffee."

She went and collected her things at the door and he watched, heartbroken from the table. And then she was gone.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he closed his eyes. He shook his head. What have you done.

He looked at the typewriter and shook his head, and looked away. But something caught his eye, he quickly looked back at the paper, and sure enough, something was there. He pulled the paper free from the machine and there, right below the last line he had typed, was a new line…a line that his hand had not typed.

I love you too…

His mouth fell open and he looked towards the door. He dropped the paper down onto the table and ran out door and into the street. He looked around and he could see her…

"Elizabeth." He said to himself and he started running again. "Elizabeth!"

She faintly heard her name being called and she turned around and saw that it was him; running down the street in pajama pants and a tee shirt.

"Ray." she whispered.

He caught up to her and tried to catch his breath, but he couldn't.

"Ray, what are you doing?"

"Elizabeth, there's something I need to tell you…"

And just like that, he kissed her.

Everyone surrounding them, stopped what they were doing and started clapping.

"I know," she said. "I love you too."