Tommy licked his lips, where the sweet taste of Allie's famous peppered chicken still lingered. Though he was disappointed in Noah for frequently leaving Allie for extended periods of time, he was also jealous that the man ate such good food when he wasn't away. The food was delicious, the honey crescent rolls, the chicken, the sweet potatoes, all of it had been perfect. She was perfect.
To Allie, the picnic had gone especially well. She delighted in seeing Tommy enjoy the food she had carefully prepared all morning, eager to get everything right. For heaven's sakes, the man had eaten like he had been starving for weeks! The conversation was not as awkward as she had thought it would be. They steered clear from talking about his job, for the purpose of avoiding an argument, but talked about her time in New York, how he had been sick with a high fever last spring and anything but Laggin's steel mill. She avoided talking about her ex fiancé and the way she had shamefully betrayed him, for she did not want Tommy to see what a fool she had been. She was ashamed of it, and he no doubt would be ashamed of her. So she just kept to casual conversations.
Looking at him now, she could not ignore her love for him, which was apparently still there. It burned like a livid fire in her heart, and no matter how she forced her mind to turn to thoughts of Noah, she could not put out the flame. She had loved Tommy all her life and now it was evident that she could never stop, no matter how long it had been. And it had been too long.
She was pulled out of her thoughts suddenly, realizing he was standing over her. "Would you like to take a walk by the river with me, Miss Allie?" He asked, in the way he had done since nine years old. She smiled, giving him her hand and let him gingerly lift her off the ground.
They walked along the riverside, arm in arm and he was her escort. He didn't want time to pass, too afraid for this moment to fade away. And to him it felt, even for the slightest second, that she was his, that she loved him best. And lord only knew, he wanted to be that one she loved best.
He felt her stop, so he turned to look at her. Her eyes were shining with happiness and if he could take a picture of the way she looked, it would be sheer perfection.
She took a deep breath, a joyful breath. She was here with him, and that's all that mattered. Even thoughts of Noah returning in a few days didn't stop what happened next. "I love you Tommy Wesley. I always have and I believe no matter what, I always will."
He looked down at her. "More than Noah?" he asked.
He saw the sadness sweep across her face, and knew that she couldn't really answer that question. He inwardly kicked himself for that. He had always had the knack for saying the wrong thing, and this time was equally awful. He reached for her hand.
"Allie, I'm sor…"
"No, its fine. We need to talk about Noah and me." She interrupted.
"Ok…" He replied, not knowing what to expect.
"There were a lot of complicated things that went on with me and Noah," she stated, not daring to look him in the face. He knew it wasn't true and so did she.
"From where I seen, Noah just fit your parents' standards better than I, but you still weren't sure. That's why you started going out with him even before you broke up with me right?" He fired back, more angrily than he intended.
"Tommy, it wasn't…" she started to say, but then stopped herself. It was exactly like that, and she knew it. He had a reason to be angry with her.
She tried again. "Tommy, I'm sorry." Yes, that was better.
He breathed in deeply. He didn't want her to feel sorry. He knew he wasn't what she deserved, nor anything compared to Noah. Noah's woodwork was a gift and Tommy was nothing but useless. He wouldn't ever be able to give her the world or life Noah could eventually give her and he knew it, and it cut at him like a knife.
Though all of these thoughts ran through his head, he took her by surprise. He pulled her to him and lowered his head, crushing his mouth upon hers. He could taste the sweetness of her lips and the way she kissed him back made his head spin. But she kissed him back, and that was all that mattered.