14. THE CALL
When we got back to the beach our boat was parked at, Edythe and I each took a share of the grocery bags – she carried the heaviest ones though of course, the ones with all the juices and the milk and the glass. Running down the white sand, we loaded everything up in the boat, just managing to make it all fit in behind us. Taking her usual place behind the wheel, Edythe held out her hand and helped me into the passenger seat.
"Remember your promise. If not for me, then do it for the sake of our precious groceries." I motioned dramatically to the backseat which had the bags on it. Edythe threw her head back and laughed; free, easy - it was one of the best feelings in the world to have that effect on her. After making sure I was all buckled up, she pressed her foot down on the gas pedal and the engine roared to life. To my absolute shock though, the thin black spindle barely went above 50, if at all.
"Wow, is that a change of heart I'm detecting?" I grinned, motioning to the speedometer window.
"You'll see." She did a little shrug, biting back a smile like she knew something I didn't. "Just keep your eyes on the sky." She pointed up towards the fading light of the horizon and I concentrated my gaze on it. When we were in the middle of the water, she stopped the boat. The city lights looked like blurry stars in the pink then orange then crimson glow of the setting sun and then suddenly the entire galaxy was illuminated high above us and in the ocean waves. Slowly, it began to dip behind the trees of Earnest Island and the cool waters surrounding it and I felt Edythe's hand slipping into mine.
"Wow." I breathed, not wanting my voice to interrupt the calm of the lovely scene before us; our own little piece of Paradise and we got to experience it together. Lucky us.
"Sunset." she whispered back just as quietly. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Beautiful." I said, but by then I was only looking at her. Her perfect lips gleamed, the crystal shadows of the waves playing across them so it looked like they were a kaleidoscope of colors and she leaned closer and closer to me, her nearness already sending shivers up my spine in the best possible way. She stroked my bottom lip and chin with her cool fingers then curled them in against my cheeks, holding me there. She rested her forehead on mine so I could feel her soft, sweet breath on the tip of my nose and her lavender eyelids fluttered as my fingers found the creases of her smiling eyes. I closed my own eyes, my lips naturally seeking hers out like searchlights in the night. Slowly, I eased her face deeper in towards mine, gripping the gentle curve that her chin made and our lips fit perfectly together like a lock and key as they met again and again. My breath shortened then quickened one right after the other and her soft, sweet voice let out the faintest echo of a moan as she tangled her hands in my hair, tugging at every tuft of brown on my head and I pulled her closer to me, pressing my hands against the back of her silky curls and running them down the impossible beauty of her swan neck, the hollows of her delicate collarbone. Time stood still once I got lost in our kiss. It was only when she pulled back, almost regretfully, did I realize the setting sun had gone away and in its absence, we were now bathed in the pale yellow glow of the moon. She clasped our hands to her chest then turned her attention back on the water.
"To remember me by." she said so quietly and her words sent an icy chill up my spine; every single cell in my body filling to capacity with the ache of dread and terror at the sudden thought of losing her. Was this... the beginning of The End for us? Just like that? Every insecurity; every fear I ever had on this trip assaulted me in the breath of a moment. I reached for her; tightened my grip on her shoulders like she'd disappear right then and there because to lose her would be to lose the best part of myself, and I knew I could only ever be half-alive; incomplete somehow without her by my side. Dramatic or not, it was how I honestly felt - it absolutely petrified me.
"What do you mean?" I squeezed her arms, my wedding band glinting unsteadily in the breaking light of the moon, my position in Edythe's life suddenly feeling just as precarious. She tilted her head to one side, eyes still on the water, and continued to steer the boat with one hand.
"I'm going out hunting again after I drop you off." Her words instantly revived me nearly to the point of tears and I let out the breath I'd been holding. "But don't worry – I'll make it up to you tenfold when I come back later tonight. Wait for me."
Make it up to you tenfold...later tonight...wait for me. It took a second for the weight of those words to truly sink in. And then my eyes flew open as a trill of excitement ran up and down my spine, like I was dunking myself into a tub of warm fizzy water. Was she saying what I think she was saying? I sank back blissfully into my chair trying, with little success, to suppress the too-big grin lighting up across my face like the big finish to a fireworks display. Maybe, just maybe, she wanted me, too, the same way I so desperately wanted her these past few weeks and now my patience, my resolve, was at last being rewarded. And it was going to be worth it for us both.
In just a few short minutes we arrived at the beach house.
"Don't move." Edythe easily gathered all the bags from the backseat of the boat into her arms.
"Hey, shouldn't I help you with that?" I started, looking after the blur of light she turned into. Before I could even finish my sentence though, she was already back.
"Okay." she breathed out with a smile, offering me her hand. "It's safe for you to come out now that I'm here."
"Thanks." I laughed as she pulled me right to her with ease. She pressed her ear up against my heart which had since started to pound away more loudly than I thought it would at this point in our relationship so it felt just like the first time I held her all over again, and I wanted to commit it all to memory. I inhaled her sweet scent and wrapped my arms around her, never wanting to let go.
"I won't be gone long." she assured even when I hadn't said a word.
"Promise?" I whispered into her hair. I just needed one more little assurance.
"I promise." And then her arms were around me again. She took my hand in hers and we walked to the front door together.
"You're not going right away?" I asked. She shook her head.
"I'll help you with the groceries. Besides, I'd be happier to know you were comfortably situated first."
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."
"You know that's impossible for me to do." she sighed, already loading the juice in the fridge.
Just then, Edythe's phone went off in the living room and she went to fetch it in one swift, invisible moment – here beside me one second, gone the next.
"Hey." Her voice brightened up. She came back into the kitchen and pointed at her phone. "It's Arch." she explained, catching my eye.
I wondered what Arch was saying, but the groceries eventually won out in the bid for my attention. I pushed the milk jug all the way to the back of the right side of the fridge and slid the carton of eggs in front of it to try and make the most of the space we had in there. I dove for the produce next and stuck them all in the little drawers at the bottom, arranging them in a way where I could see everything through the clear plastic. Lastly, I took the ground meat tied up in the three bags and jammed it into the freezer above, being extra careful not to bang my head on the open door while I was at it.
"… What do you mean?" My ears pricked up at the suddenly-concerned edge in Edythe's voice. Her palm was pressed down on the dining room table and her eyes blinked rapidly, like she was confused - or, maybe even scared. Immediately, I had to wonder why. She lowered herself into the chair, bringing her arm in below her chest and I held my breath as I watched her.
But then her shoulders relaxed and she began to laugh, brushing a hand over her right eye. "Don't scare me like that, dummy." She let out a sigh of relief and I did the same thing. Situation defused. Turning my attention back on grocery duty, I put the loaf of bread in a stainless steel box on the kitchen counter and took up the dry rigatoni and Prego jar in my hands, cradling them in one arm and opening the cabinet door with the other. Pushing aside a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup, I put the glass jar down first. Just as I reached for the box of rigatoni, it fell from the bend of my elbow and clattered to the ground. I knelt down to pick it up, letting out a sigh of relief when I saw the box wasn't busted. Of course, me being me and all I immediately lurched up with a start and slammed my head right into the open cabinet door with a resounding "BAM!" and dropped the pasta again, wincing as my body crumpled into the floor.
Edythe was over to me in a fraction of a second. "Beau? Are you alright?" she asked, eyes wide, rubbing my head where it made contact with the very hard wood.
"I'll live."
"I leave you alone for one second…" she tsk-ed like a mom and shook her head, still touching the top of mine. Sighing, she brought her phone back up to her ear, holding it there with her shoulder. "Yeah Arch, he's fine. I think that's what you must've seen." She laughed a little then. I reached for the fallen pasta box but Edythe took my wrist, stopping me. "Allow me." she whispered, lowering herself onto her knees at human speed and still keeping her eyes on me the whole time as she put the box – banged up now, but at least it wasn't broken – back on the cabinet shelf. Effortlessly, she pulled me up off the ground with one hand. "Step aside slowly." She motioned with two fingers and I did what I was told. Making sure my head wasn't on the plane of space between the cabinet door and its frame, she swung it shut then looked at me from head to foot to make sure I hadn't injured anything else. "Alright, see you, Arch. Yeah, I'll tell him." She put her phone on the counter, showing me a tired smile the next second.
"Oh, Beau. What am I going to do with you?" Edythe led me to our room; sat me on the fresh-made bed. "I'll go get you some ice." She was in and out in a matter of seconds and now had with her a cold compress.
"Here." She held it to my head and I pressed it tighter to me, feeling the cold working through the bruise I knew for sure had formed there.
"Thanks." I blushed, looking away. She took my chin, stopping me.
"Hey, look at me." Sighing, she stroked my face. "I can't leave you alone like this."
"It's just a bruise, I'm totally fine." I said a little too quickly remembering her words from earlier. She gave me a hesitating look.
"Trust me." I insisted, looking right into those beautiful golden eyes of hers. Edythe turned away, thinking, then opened her mouth to speak.
"I'll be back very soon, before midnight. I promise. You just keep that there," she motioned to the compress, "and just try not to injure yourself any further, okay?"
"Will do. Now go get yourself something to eat." I took her hand, my lips brushing against her knuckles. Then she was off.
"I love you." she called over her shoulder with shiny eyes, stopping in the doorway with her hand on the frame.
"I love you, too." I responded easily in kind and waved her off. Just like that, she was gone.
…
I don't know what to do with myself when she's gone. I sighed, still pressing the cold compress to my head – it was beginning to warm up now, and I was thinking of putting it back in the freezer to ice it up again but when I removed it, my head was still throbbing so I decided to sit tight with it for just a little while longer. Alone with my thoughts, I suddenly realized that I hadn't asked Edythe what her call with Arch was about; why she sounded so weirded out earlier. So, I began to go over in my head what I'd say to bring it up to her when she gets back later, closing my eyes to help me visualize it all.
For the next few hours, I drifted into and out of consciousness, sleep tugging at my eyelids with fearsome hands every now and again and which I fought against. "Wait for me." I remembered her words vividly and they flashed through my mind, waking me up with alarm bells whenever I felt I was going under. The ice pack was completely melted now, so I thought that was the perfect excuse for getting up and about in the house. I drifted down the hall, breezing past the off-white walls on which nice black-and-white landscape photographs blown up - one of a sandy stretch of beach, another of a waterfall, and then one of a mountain peak - were hung so they wouldn't look bare. Passing by the little reading room, I stepped inside just for fun. The walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves of colorful books of every kind and two large, comfy chairs were situated right in the middle of the place, a tiny circular table made of glass between them both. A great place to pass the time for sure. There was even a small upright piano pushed up against the far wall, nearest to the windows with the breezy gauze curtains. Moving closer to it, I noticed some sheet music bound in a black leather folder propped up on the music stand and took it in my hands, flipping through the black and white pages knowing exactly who had composed such a masterpiece – Edythe. I chuckled as I followed the delicate lilt of the melody she'd written, committing this small, incredible piece of artistry to memory. There was a point in time when her musical abilities had made me feel more than a little inadequate, but now it only filled me with this warm, overwhelming sense of pride that bubbled up from my chest and I smiled before being reminded once again how much I missed her even when we've been together all day. Replacing the music on the stand, I tried my hand at playing that which she'd written in order to make her feel closer somehow, like I wasn't alone. It didn't sound nearly as beautiful and complex as it would have had she been the one playing it of course and that only made me miss her more, being made hyper-aware of the emptiness in me that came along with her absence. With a gloomy sigh, I put her music away and rose to my feet, padding down the hall and into the living room. Flopping myself down on the couch in front of the TV I switched it on, leaning back with the remote in my lap. There was some American action movie playing – I think I saw the trailer for it a long time ago back in Arizona with Mom – and mindlessly, I took in all the explosions and the gunfire and the speeding cars and helicopters, but would mute the TV during commercial breaks in order to hear for Edythe. After about the seventh one, there was a tap on the glass front door and I jumped to my feet. Edythe waltzed right in, her hair tied up now in a messy ponytail with eyes that were the lightest shade of gold again.
"Welcome home." I ran over to her real quick, pulling her into my arms. It felt like she'd been gone for days instead of hours.
"Thanks, Beau." She left a kiss on my cheek. "How are you feeling?" she asked, touching my head.
I winced slightly. "Just a little tender but I promise I'm perfectly fine."
"That's good." She stroked either side of my jaw, looking into my eyes. When she did that, I noticed she still had hints of dark circles under her own eyes but they were so miniscule you could only see it under the direct glow of the overhead lights and if you were only inches from her face as I now was. Because of that, I didn't feel the need to bring it up right now, but wondered if maybe Arch had said something about it in the call. I took her coat and hung it up in the laundry room, following her into our bedroom as she began to undress.
"Wait." I said, hurrying inside.
"Beau? What's wrong?"
"I-" My voice began, trying - then failing - to ease into it. This wasn't going at all like I planned, but the curiosity took hold of me and wouldn't let go, overpowering all my other thoughts. "I was just wondering, what was Arch saying earlier? Why'd you get so upset with him?"
Edythe's expression darkened. "Well, he seemed – worried – about something. Suddenly he just blurted out, 'How's Beau? Is everything alright?' which I thought was rather odd. My guess was that he saw something." She bit her lip, looking down and then up but not at me. "But then, he just stopped, and began to backtrack very quickly. He told me that he really meant to ask me how we were enjoying our honeymoon and just got excited. We simply laughed it off and that was that. But I could still tell there was something a little - off - about his voice." She took a sharp breath in through her nose. "And then you went and slammed your head into that cabinet door." She rested her cheek in her hand, chuckling a little. "I think he probably saw you getting hurt and was just concerned about that. He'll be keeping in touch, though. I guess I'll just have to be your personal bodyguard from here on out." She shrugged, laughing.
"Um, but you kind of already are. Plus, you're very good at it. So, what else is new?" I shot her a grin. It was totally true, by the way.
"Right." She chuckled. "That reminds me – you still have to answer one of my questions, too." She pointed a finger at me, propping herself gracefully on the edge of the mattress and crossing one leg over the other. She patted the space beside her, indicating for me to sit down. "What were you thinking about earlier at the grocery store? You know, on our way to the eggs and milk." I was surprised she remembered that.
"Oh, yeah." I cleared my throat. "I was just thinking about the whole routine of grocery shopping, how I actually enjoyed it. Boring, huh?" I sighed.
"I don't think so. But I can tell you're not telling me the whole story, either."
"I was just thinking of the passing of time. Changing. I've been thinking about it more like you asked me to and, well, I guess I'm sort of realizing now that I actually want to stay human for a little while longer." I let it all out in one fell swoop. Edythe went silent, her face strangely calm; expressionless. That was a rare sight. "Don't take that the wrong way though, Edythe." I quickly added. "It doesn't mean I want you any less; it doesn't mean I love you any less at all whatsoever." I insisted, my voice pleading. She had to know this time it was literally me and not her. Slowly, she turned her body towards me and the light had returned to her eyes tenfold so they were like two giant gold stars.
She seized my hand. "Beau, that's the best news you could ever tell me." Her clear golden eyes looked into mine, unwavering. She let out an incredulous breath and pulled me tight to her chest. "Thank you, Beau. Thank you, thank you, thank you." She kissed the top of my head, my cheeks, my lips. "You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that." Her voice grew thick with emotion, and her reaction assured me that I was making the right choice. "And to think that you're telling me all this right now! The timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was meaning to tell you that I think I'm ready again."
My eyes widened. Best confirmation ever.
"You really mean it?"
"Yes." She nodded happily. "That was the surprise I had for you tonight – after thinking everything through these past few weeks I feel a lot more - confident now, I guess? - that I won't hurt you. I'll make sure of it. And, since I'm going to have to get used to it, why not start practicing now?" I felt that electric jolt of excitement again and I pounced on her, slamming my lips into hers over and over again, running my hands up and down every inch and every curve of her gorgeous, perfect body. Making up for lost time, and touch.
"Whoa! Hey, hey, hey, easy there, tiger." She held me back and pulled away from the slobbery kiss. My neck felt all red and splotchy again and I hid my face away, ashamed.
"Too much?"
"I'm going to be honest with you, Beau, there's two things going through my mind right now: One, yes, that was definitely way too much in way too little time. But, there's something else, too – if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of covered in mud, grass, and possibly a few bloodstains-" she motioned to her outfit, "and my hair has leaves in it." she snorted.
"I'm fine with that." I added a little too quickly.
"Well, you might be but I on the other hand feel pretty gross." She threw her head back, laughing. "So, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a shower, alright? But don't worry, I've got another surprise for you-" she went to her suitcase at human speed and held up a small plastic bag from it, narrowing her eyes seductively at me. "Nice to know I'll be able to put these things to use. Archie hadn't packed them in vain after all." she added slyly before disappearing behind the bathroom door.
"I'll be waiting." I smiled so wide I thought my face would break. Leaning back on the bed with both hands behind my head I sighed, thoroughly looking forward to one sweet night with my wife.
…
I kept my eyes glued to the bathroom door. I pictured everything - and I mean everything - that could possibly be going on in there and my heart beat wildly outside my chest, my stomach doing a hundred somersaults a minute as my skin began to heat up. Finally, I heard the soft shiver of her voice coming from the other side of the door and my body sat up and went rock-solid.
"You know, I never quite understood the concept of lingerie," she said smilingly, almost matter-of-factly, "They always end up on the floor anyways." My breath caught in my throat and I leaned so far off the edge of the mattress that I nearly fell off of it and I think I literally began to drool, like I was awaiting a delicious five-course meal after living on stale crackers for a year. The door cre-e-a-ked open slowly and the moment I saw her my heart gave out. Black. Low-cut. Lace. Sheer. Totally freaking see-through. That's all that registered in my brain before it short-circuited. There were strings crisscrossing over the gentle, voluptuous swell of her breasts and the sweet curves of her torso, her hips, and her marvelous thighs. Her bronze curls, all wet, fell perfectly over her slender shoulders. Her lips were parted ever-so-slightly and two perfectly-arched eyebrows framed those beautiful golden eyes peeking out at me, slightly narrowed with the edges made long and mesmerizing from beneath a thick fan of silky black lashes. She came nearer and nearer to me, and every step she took made me feel dizzy – not the bad kind of dizzy, but the dizzy you get riding at full-speed on the tilt-a-whirl at the fair that made your stomach gleefully flip-flop on a pleasant wave. She let out a low, rasped growl and bared her gleaming white teeth at me, lowering herself into a half-crouch and letting her back curve in slightly, like a mountain lion going in for the kill and I was anything but an unwilling victim. Take me. Tear me to shreds for all I care, I'm yours.
The next thing I know the world spun round and round – through the white and black blur her body made, I could see the ceiling, then the blanket, then the ceiling again one right after the other in such rapid succession it looked as if I were seeing them all at once. The inertia left me reeling and when the world stopped spinning I kicked at the sheets, slamming my head into the cushioned headboard but I couldn't even feel the bruise anymore, too busy catching my breath as if I were drowning and had suddenly been pulled back up to the light. She stopped then, her eyebrows drawing up in alarm and she cradled my head, afraid again maybe, that she hurt me. She was about to say something, but I put a hand over her lips and smiled. "I'm fine, I swear." I assured her, tackling her to make my point clear so she was sprawled under me now and silenced her with another long kiss. I gasped then moaned, breaking free from the whole lip-lock thing once every few seconds to catch my breath then slamming my lips into hers all over again with strength renewed and though I know she didn't need to, she did the same thing, her own gasps filling with the outermost edges of pleasure like she was trying to be quiet but couldn't really do it – well, quietly, that is. Ha. See what I did there? And I wouldn't have it any other way. Her knee pushed off the mattress then and suddenly she was on top of me now, pinning me down hard so I couldn't move. My throbbing hips were pressed tight between her cool, satin-soft thighs, the contact making me red and hot all over. Her shining lips were like a magnet in the moonlight; drawing me up, up, up towards hers and I couldn't get to them fast enough. My back arched and I sat straight up, wrapping her in my arms. With her lips still on mine, she propped herself up in my lap and her body fit right in my hands. I couldn't speak, I couldn't even breathe.
Her lips tugged very gently on my earlobe then brushed along the length of my cheekbone, tracing the curve of it and moving down my chin and then my neck, seeking me out, the hot-cold sensation making me dizzy as I desperately yearned for more.
"Have I frightened you, Beau?" she suddenly asked and pulled away, but I wasn't sure if she was joking or not.
"No." I answered her confidently head-on. I tightened my arms around her waist, pulled her in close. My lips, hot and wet, trailed up from her neck to her cheeks then the creases of her smiling eyes. She let out the whispers of a sigh mounting on into a moan and quickly, I undid the buttons on my shirt and she threw it on the floor for me, letting herself fall back onto the mattress and pulling me on top of her and her little black - um, ensemble. It began to build up inside me again, and my hands tangled in the soft lace she wore. A dream that was no longer a dream but a dream come true. Her velvet voice made a soft, caressing sound as my fingers squeezed the flesh of her beautiful breasts spilling out over the silk-bound edge of the delicate fabric. The strings which crisscrossed over them looked pretty complicated and I wasn't quite sure what to do with them at first but finally opted to pull them off each of her shoulders one-by-one; this one then the other to free the skin underneath. She tugged off my pants, unfastening the seemingly-complicated belt buckle with ease from around my waist and it fell to the floor. It was my turn now - finding the clasp of the black top-thing she donned I unhooked it, and that too went to join my clothes. When I found the ends of the black lace strings which stretched over her torso and hips, I gave them a tug like you would a birthday present tied up with string and they fell away, fluttering onto the teal circular carpet next to my side of the bed revealing everything to me. Last but certainly not the least, my fingers folded into the elastic of her black lace bottoms and slowly, I slid it down either side of her thighs, running my fingertips along the gentle curve of muscle there along the way. She kicked them away, removing my boxers next just as easily and they settled on the wood of the bedroom floor instead of the small carpet – a little bit of her and a little bit of me spread gloriously out around all those different parts which made up the entire room. I felt that heat again, throbbing and throbbing between my legs as if I would burst and break apart and I took a breath, swallowing hard.
"May I?"
She nodded. "Yes."
Slowly, slowly I lowered myself once into her just like the first time which seemed so long ago and felt that hot-cold sensation rocket through my body anew, leaving me gasping in the night low and deep with the fire it ignited inside me. She let out a shuddered breath and her eyes slid shut, but her eyebrows were raised. I did it again. There was a gush then; a sweet release. I could feel her thighs tighten around my waist and she looked away, tilting her head so mine could fit into the shadow of her neck. Her fingers trailed down either side of my arms and my back, and she covered them all with her cold, yearning kisses.
Ecstasy. Total Euphoria.
She turned off the lights.
I dove deeper into her, she pulled me deeper into her.
We were one.
I am so completely in love with you.
My Edythe.