First touches
4th December 1986
After he had called her shortly after midnight on Wednesday - technically it was already Thursday - he could not fall asleep. He was far too excited for his next date with her. And she had agreed to go out with him again. He had wanted to call her again yesterday and this morning. He'd wanted to call her again ever since he'd put the phone down. Her voice was like a drug. Her hushed voice, laced with tiredness but cheery nonetheless. Her tiny snorts if he was being funny. Her silent smiles that he couldn't see nor hear but nevertheless knew were present on her beautiful face whenever he told her something sweet. He replayed their telephone conversation over and over again in his head. She'd had a great time. She'd referred to it as a date. An official first date. She'd felt at ease. With him. She'd bowl and eat hamburgers with him anytime. Any time. With him. She'd wanted him to kiss her goodbye. She'd wanted him to kiss her. She'd wanted to be kissed. That's what she had said. And Henry could not think of anything else but Elizabeth.
Far too excited for their second date, he could not concentrate on his work. He should have been studying. Instead, he focussed on how he could top their previous date. He had found out she liked the simple things in life; nothing too fancy. She had told him to surprise her and his mind had kept racing all day. He was determined to make her happy. Make her smile. Make her comfortable. Make her his.
Elizabeth had been looking forward to their second date with a healthy amount of nervousness coursing through her. She'd done some reading yesterday and today she had studied for an upcoming midterm later next week. She was always well prepared and she wasn't going to let Henry interfere with her deadlines. The more she glanced at her watch, the more nervous she got and at five she decided to start getting ready. After all, she didn't want a similar situation as the one that had occurred on their first date, before it had even begun.
She took a long hot shower; let her hair dry without blow-drying it and got dressed. She opted for a comfy black turtleneck sweater that reached to below her thighs. Underneath, she wore black leggings. She put on some thick grey socks and wore her grey Dr Martens. At 6, she was done with her make up and she was completely dressed, shoes and all. She was ready to open the door whenever Henry would knock. She checked her complexion in the full-length mirror that hung at the back of the bathroom door and thought she had done a pretty good job. Becky was out so she couldn't give her any last minute advice. With some fifteen minutes or so to spare, she started reading the next part of her Philosophy course. She had got to a quote by Aristotle when her mind started drifting; 'The more you know, the more you know you don't know'. Her mind wandered to Henry. She had found out more about him on their first date. She had found out how he felt about her when he'd called her in the middle of the night; thinking of her when he in fact should be sleeping. But there were a lot of things she didn't know. What were his intentions? Was he looking for an easy lay? Was he looking for a long-term sort of thing? Did he just want to have fun? Did he want to become friends?
Her wondering mind was put to rest when there was a knock on the door. She got up from her bed and while she made her way over to open the door, she checked her appearance once more. She unlocked the door and opened it all the way. "I'm all dressed and ready to go," she had a broad smile and genuinely seemed happy.
"I can see that."
Henry took a small step inside her dorm and looked her over. He was struck by her elegance and beauty. He slowly manoeuvred closer to her. She leaned back slightly and looked at him. Not sure what he was planning to do. They locked eyes for a brief moment and then Henry moved his head forward and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. He lingered there for a moment and whispered in her ear.
"Hi."
"Hey," she replied as she withdrew from him.
"I've been wanting to do this since forever. The day before yesterday seems like forever ago." He really meant it. "You look gorgeous," he meant that too.
"Thanks," she blushed. "Shall we?"
He nodded eagerly.
She grabbed her scarf and her grey coat and pulled the door closed behind them. Both so very ready to start date number two.
Henry had started the car and headed out of the parking lot in front of Elizabeth's dorm.
"So, how have you been?" Henry asked.
"Good, I've done some studying. I have a big midterm coming up next week. Philosophy. But I still have a couple more days to prep. What about you?"
"I've tried to get some work done, but, honestly, I couldn't really think of anything else but you."
Elizabeth had to blush again.
"I'll study tomorrow," he said.
"So, no date then tomorrow?" Elizabeth joked.
Henry didn't know what to say. His foot abandoned the gas pedal for a brief moment and he turned to look at her. His longing eyes told her everything she needed to know. Everything she didn't know before and everything she wanted to know.
She snorted. "I'm kidding," she said. "I need to study too."
"Maybe we can study together. Tomorrow," he suggested out of the blue.
"We haven't started our second date yet and already you want to arrange a third date," she smiled as she said it.
"Well, I already know I will want to see you and talk to you tomorrow. So, yeah."
"Let's just wait and see what you have planned for us this time," she said hoping he would tell her where they were going.
"Well, no need to tell me because we're here." He drove half a mile more and then pulled up in a parking lot. She hadn't been here before and looked around to see wherever he could be taking her.
"What are we going to do here? There's nothing to see or do here." She sounded a bit worried.
He turned off the engine and put his hand on hers and squeezed it. "Don't worry. I'm taking you to dinner but there's no parking space in front of the restaurant. We just have to cross a small part of this park. Trust me." His hand was still on hers and she knew she trusted him completely.
"Okay, let's go. I'm starving."
Henry chuckled. Of course she was.
They shut their doors and Henry walked to the passenger side of the car. He put his hand on the small of Elizabeth's back and guided her in the right direction.
"Do you like Chinese?" he asked her.
"Chinese is my favourite," she seemed to glow in the dark as she admitted she loved Chinese.
They walked alongside. The park was dimly lit but she felt safe with Henry walking so close next to her. Their shoulders and upper arms were softly touching as they stepped in sync towards their destination. The cold went unnoticed by the both of them. They followed the path to the right and out of the blue, the small Chinese restaurant appeared.
They were seated opposite each other by the floor-to-ceiling-window. They had a view of a small lake that was partly frozen. The lanterns illuminated the park and it was definitely much more romantic than the burger place they went to the other day.
"This place is nice," she admitted while glancing at him and catching him staring at her.
The spell broke as they were each handed a menu and opened it to see what this place had to offer. "Would you like some wine?" Henry asked.
"Sure. Red?"
"Red!"
They looked at each other and smiled shyly.
"This all seems so great. I don't know what to pick." Elizabeth admitted.
"The pecan chicken is supposed to be awesome here. I'll go with that one." Henry said.
The waitress came and looked at Henry. He gestured towards Elizabeth, telling the waitress politely they should always start with the female customers. The waitress looked at Elizabeth, in a very different way than she looked at Henry.
"I'll have the kung-pao-chicken, please."
After a short nod, the waitress immediately turned back towards Henry. Her features changing immediately as she looked him over.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
"I'll have the pecan chicken. Could we also get some spring rolls for starters and a carafe of red wine, please." Henry looked at Elizabeth to see if she wanted anything else.
She smiled and nodded, happy with his order, especially the spring rolls.
"Would you like rice or noodles with your chicken?" the waitress asked, never looking at Elizabeth although the question was aimed at the both of them.
"Noodles," they said simultaneously and smiled. With that the waitress left.
"Do you have any idea of the effect you have on waitresses?" Elizabeth asked while leaning in closer.
Henry looked back at the waitress. His mouth was opened slightly; not knowing how to answer Elizabeth's question.
"Wednesday, the waitress was totally checking you out. You didn't seem to notice at all. And this one, well, let's just say she'd rather have been sitting where I'm sitting now."
"Well, I don't want to be here with anyone else but you," he admitted.
Again, she had to blush. Of course she had to blush when he was being this sweet.
"Don't be shy. It's true. I like you, Elizabeth. A lot. And I really want to get to know you better."
The blush still apparent on her cheeks, she obliged him to continue. "Okay, shoot, what do you want to know?"
"Everything!"
"Well, it's kinda difficult to do that all in the timespan of a date."
"We have time, there's no rush." He thought for a moment. "What's your most treasured memory?"
She swallowed. That's a hard one. She swallowed thickly again. "Euhm, the memory I have of my family. The little things really. Waking up in the morning. Being hugged by both my parents as I came down the stairs, still sleepy. Watching my mom and dad interact as they made breakfast for Will and me. Coming home from school. My dad was teaching me…"
She stopped as the waitress arrived with their wine and appetizer spring rolls. Elizabeth immediately took one and continued her story. Henry in the meantime poured them both a glass of the red fluid.
"My dad was teaching me more about math than I should probably have known at that age while my mom helped Will with his homework. Seeing my mom and dad on the couch cuddling as I went to bid them goodnight. Riding the horses during the weekends. Leaving early in the morning, a picnic basket on my dad's saddle, a blanket on my mom's and the four of us not returning until dusk."
Henry was listening to every word she said and although she sounded chipper, he could hear the sadness as she spoke of her family. The family he now knew she missed terribly.
He took his glass.
"It sounds like you had a fantastic childhood with a loving family." Henry's voice was soft. He wanted to hold her and take her pain away. But it was too early for that.
"I did." She sighed.
"I think they did a wonderful job raising you, Elizabeth."
"I'm grateful for that. My parents always let Will and me feel special. Really special. Like we were the center of our parents' universe. They would always put Will and me before anything or anyone else."
"Let's toast to being special," Henry brought his glass to hers. They looked into each other's eyes as their glasses touched each other.
They both took a sip. Elizabeth put her glass down first and inhaled before she spoke again.
"I hate myself for not doing the same thing for my parents."
"How so?" Henry wanted to know and he put his glass down as well.
"I loved my parents very much and I admired them individually and even more so when they were together. Family first, that's what they taught us. The day of the accident, they asked me if I wanted to join them and Will to go and get a milkshake. And, I,…" she closed her eyes for a second and sighed. "I just wanted to study for my math test. I let my parents and Will go, as a family. It seemed like I didn't want to be part of it. I have regretted that decision ever since because I never got them back. My family."
By the time she'd spoken those final words, Henry had both his hands wrapped around hers in the middle of their table. His thumb was soothingly stroking the knuckles of her right hand.
"I can't imagine what you've gone through, Elizabeth. I'm sorry. Being without your family must be so difficult for you."
"It is, but the shrinks and therapists have done their work. And time does heal wounds. Will and I have had our troubles and we've been through hell. But we're fairly happy with where we are now and we treasure the memories that we have."
Her hands were still locked in his. Unfortunately, their food arrived and they had to separate so the waitress could put it on the table.
"This smells so great." Elizabeth inhaled the odour of her food.
"Mine looks great too."
"It does," Elizabeth agreed.
They dug in. "Oh my god. This is so good. Henry, you've got to taste this." She topped her fork with some chicken and a piece of pepper and held it out for him to taste.
"Wow, that is great. Would you like a bite of mine too?"
She nodded eagerly and he pointed a forkful of his pecan chicken towards her.
Her lips enclosed his fork and she pulled the chicken into her mouth. The intimacy of sharing food like that sent a wave of warmth through Henry's body. As she was chewing, she moaned. "This is heavenly."
Henry thought the food was great, but his heaven was sitting right in front of him.
She put her fork down to take another sip of the wine.
"Tell me something about you," Elizabeth ordered Henry.
"Where shall I begin?"
"What does your ideal future look like?"
He smirked. "That's easy." He took another sip before continuing. "I want to be a fighter pilot."
Elizabeth's mouth dropped open. She searched for his eyes. "But you study ethics and religion?"
"Yeah, but I'm taking the ROTC program and I will probably be deployed once I graduate." He spoke so enthusiastically about this that Elizabeth had to swallow. She felt the still rather large piece of chicken slide down her throat. She felt uncomfortable for the very first time.
"You want to go to war?" Her voice was barely audible.
"Not war per se, I will probably just do training flights and of course, if war were to break out, I don't want to voluntarily kill people, but I believe in the greater good and that some sacrifices need to be made in order to make this world a better place. I'm willing to fight for our country's worthy cause."
"Well, that's patriotic."
"I am convinced that the person leading our country is doing his absolute best to keep us safe. If that safety is in jeopardy, something needs to be done."
"Aren't you scared?"
"When fear is excessive, it can make many a man despair. That's Aquinas."
She smirked. But the joy and ease had escaped from her features. "What does your family say about this?" Elizabeth wanted to know.
"My dad is proud about me finally stepping up and being a man instead of studying religion. My mom is not a fan. But it's what I believe in and I believe some things have to be done."
Henry noticed the shift in Elizabeth's demeanour and that she was picking her food. "Hey, it's not like I'm leaving next week. Don't worry about something that is still a long way off. My ideal future has also many other facets."
Her smile was genuine now. And she slowly started eating again.
"Once I get back from my deployment, I want to start my life. I want to be happy with the woman I love. I want to give her anything, I would do anything to make her happy and make her feel loved. I want to start a family some day, a big one. I want kids, preferably at least one girl and one boy. And that perfect family wouldn't be complete without a dog." He smiled and as he spoke, he looked her over trying to read her mind.
"Wow, that's precise." She swallowed. "You've already put a lot of thinking into this. Do you have names already?"
"For the dog, I was thinking Max."
She sat back against her chair. Surprised he had already figured this out.
"For the kids, Henry Jr. for a boy of course. And for the girl something royal because I will treat my daughter like a princess."
She gasped. Unbelievable.
He was smiling foolishly. "I'm kidding. Elizabeth, I'm kidding. I just want to be happy, start a life with someone I adore, and if kids are in the future, then I definitely would want kids. But I don't have names yet. Now eat your chicken."
After Henry's joke, the mood had lightened. Elizabeth seemed to relax again and she had finished her entire meal. She'd taken her time this time, not wanting to gross Henry out by stuffing herself in record time. It was only 8 pm when Henry asked for the check. Elizabeth insisted to pay for her part of the meal but Henry would hear none of it. "Ready for the next part of our date?" he asked.
"It depends on what you have planned," she honestly said.
"A look into my future," he ignited her curiosity.
They took the same route through the park; it was darker now and noticeably colder. Elizabeth shivered as the cold hit her. Henry put his arm around her and rubbed her arm. When they reached Henry's car, he opened the door on the passenger's side for her and quickly entered the car himself, turning the engine on and turning up the heat.
Before they arrived at their next destination, Henry had asked her: "Romantic – humorous – exciting – adventurous – tense?"
"Do you want me to put them in a certain order or do I just have to pick one?" she asked him.
"Choose three and just order them randomly."
She thought for a bit.
"Exciting, humorous and romantic."
They arrived at the movies; the movie wouldn't start for half an hour. Elizabeth said she needed to use the ladies, so Henry went to wait in line to buy two tickets for them.
When he came back with the tickets, Elizabeth was waiting for him holding a huge bowl of popcorn.
"Still hungry?" Henry asked as he grabbed some popcorn from the bowl.
She gave him an angry look. "Do you want me to buy a bowl for you as well?"
Henry's face fell. And there it was, her snort. She laughed loudly. "Just kidding, as much as I like popcorn, and I like it a lot, this bowl is for us."
He gave her a sweet smile.
"So, what are we watching?" she asked as they made their way to the right theater.
"Top gun, baby. Top gun. Have you already seen it?"
She shook her head. "Well, it's supposed to be exciting, incredibly romantic and humorous." She looked at him and smiled widely.
They took their seats near the back of the theatre. Henry had already taken out his coat and put on the seat next to him. He took the bowl of popcorn so Elizabeth could take off her coat as well and put the bowl in between his legs. She leaned over him and put her coat with his. She got comfortable and relaxed as she dug into the bowl of popcorn and popped the pieces in her mouth bit by bit.
He looked at her and smiled.
She felt his gaze on her and turned to look at him. "What?" she asked as she grabbed another portion of popcorn.
"You're beautiful," he admitted.
"You're cheesy," she teased.
"Have you made a decision about our upcoming study date yet?" Even though she was sitting right next to him, Henry already knew he wanted to see her again, soon.
"Not yet," she said but she was sure that by the end of the evening her answer would be yes.
The movie was about to start. Both went in for another grab of popcorn and their hands touched. It lasted for only a brief moment before she withdrew her hand. She had felt the electricity coursing through her body and wondered if he reacted to her touch the same way. "You go first," she said.
Henry grabbed a handful of popcorn and put it in her hand before he went in for a handful for himself.
She smiled and then turned her attention towards the large screen. The lights fading and the music starting indicated the movie was about to start.
She found the bucket of popcorn blindly and had to dig deeper and deeper in order to retrieve popcorn.
After about half an hour, she had finished the entire bowl and Henry put it down on the floor. Her arm was resting in between them and Henry put his hand on top of hers. She looked at their hands and then turned to him. She smiled.
Henry smiled back.
He could feel her tensing during the flying scenes; especially the one where Goose got in trouble. He entwined their fingers and squeezed her hand reassuring her everything would be all right.
Maybe he'd better chosen a different movie. Goose dying was not the most reassuring part, knowing he'd probably in the same kind of situation one day.
He started rubbing small circles on the inside of her palm. Her hands were so soft. He liked being this close to her and feeling comfortable.
Their hands stayed locked throughout the entire movie. She shivered as the final scene played on the screen. They waited until the credits were finished and the lights were turned back on. He pulled her hands towards his mouth and put a kiss to the back of her hand.
"Did you like it?" he asked.
She nodded. "I can see now why you want to become a fighter pilot."
"Oh yeah?" encouraging her to elaborate.
"Yeah, you just want to get the hot girl."
"She's already sitting next to me," he smiled.
"So cheesy," she snorted again.
"Let's go," he didn't let go of her hand so he could pull her up form her seat.
When they got back in the car, Henry was the first one to speak. "I don't know about you but I would really like to have that study date with you tomorrow."
"I'd like that," she said simply.
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
The ride from the movies to Elizabeth's dorm was not long. And so time was running out.
"How does 2 suit you?"
"2 is fine. Let's meet at the library," she suggested. "I need to do some extra research on a couple of matters."
"2 it is. I'll be waiting."
"You'll probably be there at 1.45 already." She laughed out loud. "Where in the library shall we meet? It's a big place and it tends to be crowded on Saturdays."
"Aquinas."
"Yeah, that seems fitting. Aquinas."
Henry pulled up and asked her if he could walk her to her dorm.
"That's not necessary." He was a bit disappointed. "It's really cold out, no need to both get our ears frozen off," she explained why he should remain in the car.
She turned towards him. "Thank you for dinner, Henry. And the movies."
She leaned in closer.
He waited. "Thank you for the popcorn."
She came even closer now. Was she taking the lead? He was awestruck.
"Euhm, and thank you for your wonderful company."
He leaned in too now. Just as he thought she was going to kiss him, she pressed her soft lips to the left corner of his mouth. She got a taste of his cheek and lips and smiled. He wanted to touch the place where her lips had just been but he was unable to move or pronounce another word.
She put her hand above his knee and patted it. "See you tomorrow, Henry. Night"
And with that she was gone.
