about begged her to listen to that doctor.
‘When it’s my time, it’s my time,’ she’d say.”
“They’d
been together for a long time.”
“Goin’
on fifty years. I’m sure you don’t remember him, though. Your grandpaw passed
on when you was still learnin’ how to walk and wearin’ diapers. He was a good
man, though. The best.”
I
touched my shirt, and felt the locket hanging on the other side, cool and round
against my skin. The gift he’d given my grandmother was a symbol she’d held
onto, and once she knew in her heart that she would feel his love again in the
next life, that symbol was passed on to me.
“I
wasn’t trying to stop her from giving you that because I thought you shouldn’t
have it,” mother said complacently. “If it belonged to anyone it was you. She’d
always said that she wanted you to have it one day, but I was worried with you
being so young, that you might somehow lose it.”
“I
did, Momma. In the accident.”
“No
honey, you didn’t,” she said, shaking her head knowingly. “You gave it
to someone, and they brought it back to you. That locket was never lost, not
for a minute.”
Two
hours later, I was in my room, getting ready for my date with Shane. Momma had
gotten an appetite after all, and before I’d left her downstairs, she and Daddy
had decided to go out on a little date of their own. She told me that it had
seemed like forever since she’d been hungry, and if that man of hers didn’t
take her out for a steak and an ice cream sundae he’d live to regret it. I
don’t think Daddy ever looked so happy in all his life.
In
front of my mirror and fresh out of the shower, I did some gussying up. I chose
a deep red lipstick that I hadn’t worn in ages and puckered up, showing my
reflection the best kissy-face I could manage to hold without laughing as I put
on the finishing touches. A thrill ran through me from my toes to the top of my
head when I thought about what it might feel like to have Shane’s lips against
mine before the night was out.
What
a man .
Not even here, and already he was driving me mad.
After
reminding myself that the date hadn’t even started, I refocused on getting ready.
A look at the glowing alarm clock on my nightstand told me that I only had
another twenty minutes before Mr. Special came a-calling. Since my hair was
cooperating once it was dry, I combed it out and teased the strands half-way up
with the curling iron, leaving wavy lengths that fell in an auburn cascade
across my shoulders. A bit of fluffing here and there, and the look was
complete.
Next,
I dug out the sultry black dress from the closet and stepped into it, marveling
in the slick, smooth feeling of the fabric as it glided over my skin. It hugged
around my hips just enough to look good without restricting me, and the tight
fit of it stretching around my breasts gave my bra a run for its money. After
nearly twisting my elbow in half to get the tiny zipper in the back up, I spun
in the mirror, and then promptly wondered who the gorgeous woman staring back
at me was!
“Hello
Shane,” I whispered to my reflection with a lusty smile, and then blew it a
kiss. It was silly, but I hadn’t been so excited in a long time. Sue me.
By
the time I finished my show in front of the mirror and put the last touches on
my makeup, the doorbell chime rang out. “Coming!” I shouted, while
simultaneously hopping into my little black shoes and then trying to rapidly navigate
the steps down into the foyer. It was a lucky thing that our date didn’t end
with me lying at the bottom of the hardwood stairs with a broken neck.
Just
as the doorbell rang again, I swung open the door, and my happy expression fell
flat. Standing before me, wearing naught but his old boots and a pair of
oil-covered blue jeans was Hale. He wiped his chiseled, sweaty chest with a
cloth and gave me a burning look from underneath the faded baseball cap on his
head.
“Kat…”
he started, and his eyes
‘When it’s my time, it’s my time,’ she’d say.”
“They’d
been together for a long time.”
“Goin’
on fifty years. I’m sure you don’t remember him, though. Your grandpaw passed
on when you was still learnin’ how to walk and wearin’ diapers. He was a good
man, though. The best.”
I
touched my shirt, and felt the locket hanging on the other side, cool and round
against my skin. The gift he’d given my grandmother was a symbol she’d held
onto, and once she knew in her heart that she would feel his love again in the
next life, that symbol was passed on to me.
“I
wasn’t trying to stop her from giving you that because I thought you shouldn’t
have it,” mother said complacently. “If it belonged to anyone it was you. She’d
always said that she wanted you to have it one day, but I was worried with you
being so young, that you might somehow lose it.”
“I
did, Momma. In the accident.”
“No
honey, you didn’t,” she said, shaking her head knowingly. “You gave it
to someone, and they brought it back to you. That locket was never lost, not
for a minute.”
Two
hours later, I was in my room, getting ready for my date with Shane. Momma had
gotten an appetite after all, and before I’d left her downstairs, she and Daddy
had decided to go out on a little date of their own. She told me that it had
seemed like forever since she’d been hungry, and if that man of hers didn’t
take her out for a steak and an ice cream sundae he’d live to regret it. I
don’t think Daddy ever looked so happy in all his life.
In
front of my mirror and fresh out of the shower, I did some gussying up. I chose
a deep red lipstick that I hadn’t worn in ages and puckered up, showing my
reflection the best kissy-face I could manage to hold without laughing as I put
on the finishing touches. A thrill ran through me from my toes to the top of my
head when I thought about what it might feel like to have Shane’s lips against
mine before the night was out.
What
a man .
Not even here, and already he was driving me mad.
After
reminding myself that the date hadn’t even started, I refocused on getting ready.
A look at the glowing alarm clock on my nightstand told me that I only had
another twenty minutes before Mr. Special came a-calling. Since my hair was
cooperating once it was dry, I combed it out and teased the strands half-way up
with the curling iron, leaving wavy lengths that fell in an auburn cascade
across my shoulders. A bit of fluffing here and there, and the look was
complete.
Next,
I dug out the sultry black dress from the closet and stepped into it, marveling
in the slick, smooth feeling of the fabric as it glided over my skin. It hugged
around my hips just enough to look good without restricting me, and the tight
fit of it stretching around my breasts gave my bra a run for its money. After
nearly twisting my elbow in half to get the tiny zipper in the back up, I spun
in the mirror, and then promptly wondered who the gorgeous woman staring back
at me was!
“Hello
Shane,” I whispered to my reflection with a lusty smile, and then blew it a
kiss. It was silly, but I hadn’t been so excited in a long time. Sue me.
By
the time I finished my show in front of the mirror and put the last touches on
my makeup, the doorbell chime rang out. “Coming!” I shouted, while
simultaneously hopping into my little black shoes and then trying to rapidly navigate
the steps down into the foyer. It was a lucky thing that our date didn’t end
with me lying at the bottom of the hardwood stairs with a broken neck.
Just
as the doorbell rang again, I swung open the door, and my happy expression fell
flat. Standing before me, wearing naught but his old boots and a pair of
oil-covered blue jeans was Hale. He wiped his chiseled, sweaty chest with a
cloth and gave me a burning look from underneath the faded baseball cap on his
head.
“Kat…”
he started, and his eyes
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