CHAPTER 3
Slowly you begin to rise
And all the dreams left in my eyes
Come true, as far as I can tell
-Tony Lucca, "Understand"
"Wait a second. Wait just a second!"
Through some quick maneuvering, the startled man managed to extricate himself from Alison's desperate grasp. Taking a couple steps backwards in the church's main aisle, he cocked his head to the side and took a good look at her.
She was cute - gorgeous, actually - with long, flowing, blonde hair and glistening blue eyes. Her tanned skin was flawless, and her slight figure attracted him just as much as did Livvie's curvaceous one, perhaps even more. There was just something about her...
"Rafe, I'm so sorry!"
The blonde giggled, covering her rosy lips and cheeks with her hands like an embarrassed schoolgirl.
"It's just-"
The giggles returned.
"I'm just so happy to see you!"
"You're happy to see me?" Rafe asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, of course I am."
She smiled, displaying two, perfect rows of pearly white teeth.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
She moved toward him, and the now-very-confused man instinctively took a few steps backward.
"Rafe, what's wrong?" she asked him, concerned. "Did something happen while you were gone? 'Cause I gotta tell you, so much's happened here..."
"Wait, you know about my being 'gone?'" he inquired curiously, his brow furrowing underneath its mask of honey-blond bangs.
She obviously recognized him, and she knew he'd been missing. What else did she know?
The young woman eyed him peculiarly. If he didn't know any better, Rafe would swear that he heard the wheels turning in her head as she looked at him.
"Well?" he demanded.
His voice betrayed his anxiety, and he instantly felt horrible for snapping at her. He just had to know!
"Rafe, calm down."
There she was again, inching toward him...
"Yeah, I know you left town. I know everything about you - At least, I'd like to think I do - just like you know everything about me."
"Why?" He swallowed loudly, taking another small step backward. "Why would you say that?"
"Oh, come on, Rafe," she scoffed lightly, stopping dead in her tracks and crossing her slender arms across her chest. "Stop playing around. You know why."
"I do?" he asked innocently.
"Yes, you do," she stated matter-of-factly.
Rafe shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of two baby blue eyes that seemed to bore right through him. He cast his face down, trying desperately to escape them.
"Rafe..."
The blonde stepped closer to him again and gently cupped his chin in her tiny hands, forcing him to face her.
"Please tell me what happened. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it together, just like we always do."
Uh, oh. There were those eyes again...
"Um..." was all he could manage.
She suddenly let her hand drop, releasing him from her enchanting gaze.
Startled, Rafe watched as she now backed away from him.
"You know, Rafe," she began, raising her delicate hands in frustration, "now is really not the time to do this to me. I've been through a lot since you left, and I really need your help. I mean..."
She paused a moment before continuing.
"I know this really wasn't what we figured life would be like after we got married, but-"
"Wait, 'married!'"
"Married." Hearing her say that really threw him for a loop. Here he was, talking to this girl he'd swear he never met before, and she's saying they're husband and wife. It was just what Livvie had talked about, hearing too much information at once.
He suddenly felt quite woozy and stumbled backward, reaching for something to support him. He knew there was another set of pews there somewhere...
Ah, he found it! Oh, no, he didn't...
The floor seemed to disappear from beneath him, and Rafe found himself falling... falling smack into that missing front pew...
Slowly you begin to rise
And all the dreams left in my eyes
Come true, as far as I can tell
-Tony Lucca, "Understand"
"Wait a second. Wait just a second!"
Through some quick maneuvering, the startled man managed to extricate himself from Alison's desperate grasp. Taking a couple steps backwards in the church's main aisle, he cocked his head to the side and took a good look at her.
She was cute - gorgeous, actually - with long, flowing, blonde hair and glistening blue eyes. Her tanned skin was flawless, and her slight figure attracted him just as much as did Livvie's curvaceous one, perhaps even more. There was just something about her...
"Rafe, I'm so sorry!"
The blonde giggled, covering her rosy lips and cheeks with her hands like an embarrassed schoolgirl.
"It's just-"
The giggles returned.
"I'm just so happy to see you!"
"You're happy to see me?" Rafe asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, of course I am."
She smiled, displaying two, perfect rows of pearly white teeth.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
She moved toward him, and the now-very-confused man instinctively took a few steps backward.
"Rafe, what's wrong?" she asked him, concerned. "Did something happen while you were gone? 'Cause I gotta tell you, so much's happened here..."
"Wait, you know about my being 'gone?'" he inquired curiously, his brow furrowing underneath its mask of honey-blond bangs.
She obviously recognized him, and she knew he'd been missing. What else did she know?
The young woman eyed him peculiarly. If he didn't know any better, Rafe would swear that he heard the wheels turning in her head as she looked at him.
"Well?" he demanded.
His voice betrayed his anxiety, and he instantly felt horrible for snapping at her. He just had to know!
"Rafe, calm down."
There she was again, inching toward him...
"Yeah, I know you left town. I know everything about you - At least, I'd like to think I do - just like you know everything about me."
"Why?" He swallowed loudly, taking another small step backward. "Why would you say that?"
"Oh, come on, Rafe," she scoffed lightly, stopping dead in her tracks and crossing her slender arms across her chest. "Stop playing around. You know why."
"I do?" he asked innocently.
"Yes, you do," she stated matter-of-factly.
Rafe shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of two baby blue eyes that seemed to bore right through him. He cast his face down, trying desperately to escape them.
"Rafe..."
The blonde stepped closer to him again and gently cupped his chin in her tiny hands, forcing him to face her.
"Please tell me what happened. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it together, just like we always do."
Uh, oh. There were those eyes again...
"Um..." was all he could manage.
She suddenly let her hand drop, releasing him from her enchanting gaze.
Startled, Rafe watched as she now backed away from him.
"You know, Rafe," she began, raising her delicate hands in frustration, "now is really not the time to do this to me. I've been through a lot since you left, and I really need your help. I mean..."
She paused a moment before continuing.
"I know this really wasn't what we figured life would be like after we got married, but-"
"Wait, 'married!'"
"Married." Hearing her say that really threw him for a loop. Here he was, talking to this girl he'd swear he never met before, and she's saying they're husband and wife. It was just what Livvie had talked about, hearing too much information at once.
He suddenly felt quite woozy and stumbled backward, reaching for something to support him. He knew there was another set of pews there somewhere...
Ah, he found it! Oh, no, he didn't...
The floor seemed to disappear from beneath him, and Rafe found himself falling... falling smack into that missing front pew...