Chapter 11: Until They Meet Again

Donovan embraced Julie as she slept. His thoughts wavered from how to go about getting Sean back, to how to keep Julie from feeling unsettled about his relationship with her. Her alarm clock went off at 3 A.M. and Donovan knew that was his cue to leave. He quickly shut off the clock and reset it to 6 A.M. before it could wake Julie.

He wondered when they would be able to enjoy one another's company like this again. The war did not seem as though it would end anytime soon. Donovan sat up, pulled on his briefs then jeans, then glanced over at the woman he loved. Light spilled in from her balcony window, illuminating her face.

Aw… what the hell? He leaned over, smoothed back strands of wavy blonde hair, and pressed a kiss to her ear.

Julie did not wake. Donovan's responsibility now was to inform the others of his and Julie's decision to have her keep her distance from the group for a couple of weeks. Of course, this meant he could not see her either.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. He remembered a quote by an unknown author and added his own adage Absence drives a man insane.

He pulled the sheet over Julie's naked frame. He briefly considered waking her, if only to enjoy making love to her for the last time in what would be a while.

What neither he nor Julie knew, was that on this night, their union brought about an unexpected conception, a child that would be lost long before his birth, through new, unforeseen stresses on its parent's relationship. There's nothing like an old lover returning to confuse a man when he's having difficulties with his present love…

But that's another story, called "Death Tide" not written by this author.

~End~