03 July 1991 - Main Street, Enfield, Massachusetts
Allison walked back into the apartment while she leafed through a stack of mail. “Jeff, you’ve got a bunch of mail here with those forwarding stickers on them.” It was amazing how good she looked dressed in one of his t-shirts and a pair of her shorts.
She’d been sleeping over almost every night since the alumni event. They’d talked to the Newburys about that at Jeff’s insistence; he didn’t want them to feel he was monopolizing her time at home. The Newburys didn’t have a problem with it because Allison was happy. She’d be adjusting to a new school and city in under two months and being with Jeff would keep her relaxed until then. He smiled at the feeling of sharing space with someone he loved.
Jeff flipped through the envelopes. Most of them were mail forwarded from Fort Bragg. It was almost all junk mail, though some were bills from companies he’d have to contact with a change of address. One envelope stood out. The oversized envelope made from heavy paper had his parents’ address printed on it; the printing was raised. Jeff opened it, curious. The enclosed wedding invitation was written in traditional form with the bride’s parents requesting he attend; he’d been invited to bring a guest. Jeff smiled when he read the names of the bride and groom.
“What is it, Jeff?” Jeff held the invitation out to Allison. “Who are Jenna Farrier and Oscar Infante?”
“Oscar was a soldier in my platoon until he was injured in a training accident. Ken mentioned him when you guys came down, though he didn’t use Oscar’s name. Jenna was his physical therapist.”
“When’s the wedding?”
“End of August. Looks like the Saturday before Labor Day Weekend in Amarillo, the twenty-fourth. That must be where Jenna’s from, Amarillo; I remember Oscar being from somewhere further south, either Dallas or Houston.”
Allison frowned. She knew Jeff would ask her to go to the wedding with him, and she wanted to go. She and her parents planned to be in Austin by then, however; she’d be moving into her unit at UT’s University Apartments complex that weekend. Lucky for her Jeff was still looking at the invitation. She changed her expression back to a neutral one before he looked up.
“You’ve been working on those boots for over two hours.”
“I’ll be marching in the town parade tomorrow with other veterans. I can’t be looking like a rag-bag.” She shot him a blank look. “I need to look my best,” he clarified.
“Is there anything I can help you with at least?”
He put his boots down next to his chair. “I’m feeling lonely...” he said with a wolfish grin while wagging his eyebrows at her. She looked even better with his t-shirt on the floor.
“Nice job, Jeff,” Tom Cavanaugh offered with a smile.
Jeff scowled at him. “Since when is the tradition to have the veteran who’s just gotten out of the service lead the July Fourth formation?”
“Since I volunteered you for it this morning. That’s what happens when you miss membership meetings.”
“I’m not even a member of the VFW yet! How can I miss a membership meeting when I’m not part of the membership?”
“That’s your problem, Airborne, you figure it out.”
Jeff shook his head. Great, I leave the military and I’m still being ‘voluntold’ to do things related to it. Jeff was still shaking his head when a pair of blondes skipped up to the knot of veterans. Many appreciative eyes followed.
“Grampy! You looked so handsome marching in the parade!” Heather chirped while she hugged Tom.
“Alice, someone’s making a move on your man over here,” Jeff commented as more friends and family approached.
Heather stepped over to him. He expected to get smacked, but she wrapped him in a hug instead. “I’m so sorry, Jeff.” Jeff hugged her back to say thanks. Heather and Jane only recently returned from a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate Jane’s retirement from the Air Force. He hadn’t seen Heather since her visit to Fayetteville two years ago.
“Jeff, don’t try to help Tom get in trouble; he can get into it all by himself. Allison, why do you keep hanging around this pot-stirrer again?” Alice Cavanaugh asked.
“I’m not sure, Mrs. Cavanaugh.” Alice shot her a look. “Alice, sorry.”
“You’d think she’d have the answer to that question figured out by now, Alice; she’s pretty smart.”
“Not if she keeps hanging around you, she’s not,” Heather added. Jeff stuck his tongue out at her. Heather did the same back to him.
“Yup, you’re brother and sister material alright,” Jane laughed, joined by Jeff’s parents and Kara.
“Well, I don’t know about you comedians, but I need to change. These Class-As won’t be very comfortable in the hot sun at the town cookout. You guys want to check out my apartment, or would you like to meet us over at the common?”
“I wanna see the Love Shack!” Heather yelled. “‘Love shack, baaaabyyyy!’” Allison blushed bright red. Jeff whispered a follow-up comment in Allison’s ear which caused her to blush even more. “Wait a minute! What did you say to her?”
“Nope. None of your business, Heather. Alright, the tour group going to Bilzarian’s Bachelor Pad is leaving. Try to keep up, everyone!” Jeff led the whole group down Main Street to Bilzarian’s.
“Wow! You did all of this yourself?” Heather asked, gaping at the apartment.
“Yep, took me about a week. A friend of Steve Bilzarian gave me some pointers on restoring the woodwork, but the elbow grease was all mine. Before I get changed, can I get anyone a drink?” Jeff retrieved the requested beverages before darting into his bedroom to change. He emerged wearing a 504th PIR “What I Did On My Christmas Vacation 1989” t-shirt, shorts and sneakers.
“It’s a little spartan up here, Jeff,” Jane commented when he reappeared.
“Living out of a wall locker and duffel bag for four years does that, Jane. I’m sure you know that better than I do. Of course, you ociffers live different than us poor enlisted slobs.” Jane stuck her tongue out at him. Their relationship could be more relaxed now that they were both out of the military. Jeff smiled back at her.
“Today’s gonna be a good day, weather-wise,” Allison mentioned as the group stepped back into the sunshine. “A perfect day for a cookout. Tomorrow is going to be another story, from what I understand.”
“Gotta love New England,” added Kara. “Eighty-five degrees and sunny one day, fifty-five and rainy the next.”
“I know what we can do tomorrow,” Jeff smiled.
“We’ve already watched you smash baseballs for an hour, hotshot,” Heather cracked.
“Shaddap, kid.”
“It’s the fifth of July and I’m walking into an ice rink. There’s something inherently wrong about this whole situation,” Allison said. Jeff whispered into Allison’s ear. The heat coming off her face threatened to melt the ice.
“What? What do you keep saying to her?” Heather demanded.
“Still none of your business, kiddo,” Jeff smiled back. Again she stuck her tongue out at him.
Allison, Heather, Kara and Jeff sat in the Thompkins field house bleachers while they tied their skates; the school kept ice on the rink year round. Jeff also brought his gloves, a bag of pucks and a stick with him in addition to his skates. The three young ladies stepped onto the ice and began skating right away. Jeff stepped onto the ice and began to stretch as he was taught when he started playing hockey.
“What time’s the game?” Heather asked.
“Don’t think I won’t take you over my knee and paddle you!”
“You wouldn’t dare. You wouldn’t risk pissing off Allison. I’ll bet she’d get pretty jealous.”
Jeff shook his head while Heather skated away laughing. He started skating around the edge of the rink after he’d stretched. The women gathered at center ice and began talking after a few minutes. With no one in his way Jeff began to skate harder; he was soon skating as fast as he could. The ladies stood at center ice and watched.
“Man, he’s fast!”
“How does he turn backwards on the fly like that without falling?”
“I think he misses it.”
“C’mon, ladies, let’s leave Hans Brinker to his skating.” The women left the ice and arena, preferring to sit in the lobby of the building. It was warmer there.
Jeff saw that the ice was empty as the women passed through the doors to the lobby. He shrugged, skated to the bench area and walked down the rubber runner along the outside of the boards. He dragged a goal onto the ice, closed the boards and returned to the bench. He put his gloves on and picked up his stick and the puck bag, setting pucks down along the inside of the blue line.
He stretched again before skating to the right point to face the net he’d dragged onto the ice. The rink narrowed down to just him and the net. He squared up and fired a rising slap shot at the net; he aimed at the near-side top corner. A sharp metallic <ting!> rang through the arena as he wound up for his next shot. The puck struck the inside of the post and ricocheted into the net. The follow-on shot did the same. <Ting!> after <ting!> sounded as puck after puck found post and net.
Jeff fired his last shot and bolted for the opposite end of the ice, again skating as hard as he could. He circled around the far crease and streaked back down the boards. He stopped on a dime next to his net spraying shaved ice against the glass. He picked a single puck from the group with the blade of his stick, then repeated his trip around the boards. He pushed the puck in front of him as if on a breakaway. He fired one more slap shot as he approached the blue line he’d started at. The puck found the back of the net just under the crossbar.
“You gonna try out this season?” a familiar voice called. Jeff turned to see Coach Kessler stepping onto the ice. The man skated over and shook his hand. “Kara says you’re home for good? That you’re out of the Army?”
“Both true, Coach.”
“‘John, ‘ Jeff. ‘John.’ You don’t look like you’ve lost a step, or anything off that shot of yours.”
“First time I’ve skated or picked up a stick since high school, John. I’m kinda surprised myself. Feels good, though; I’ve missed it, if truth be told.”
“You’re still collecting blondes too, I see.”
Jeff raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you mean Heather? Yeah, I guess. There’s a raven-haired woman out in Washington state you’ll likely meet one day, too.” Now it was John Kessler’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “A battle buddy’s little sister. I don’t know how I know, but I know she’ll be my wife within five years. Don’t ask, John; I can’t explain. And, yes, Allison knows.”
“Your business, not mine, Jeff. You been keeping up with those workouts you used to do?”
Jeff nodded. “Five hundred each and six miles or so every day. The cadre in the 82nd took a dim view of troops that couldn’t measure up. I gotta join a gym or something soon, though. I need to start hitting the weights again.”
“You’re starting an EMT class over at SRVCC in the fall I hear?”
“Swerve? Yeah. I’m working at Bilzarian’s again and living in the apartment upstairs, so I’ll walk to and from class. The campus is right across Main Street, after all.”
“What’s your class schedule going to be?”
“They run the class Tuesday and Thursday nights, why?”
“Would you be interested in doing some assistant coaching for me this season? Most of our games are scheduled for Wednesdays and Fridays.”
Jeff blinked. “Wow, John, are you serious?” John nodded. “To be honest, I don’t think I’d ever considered it until you asked. Yeah, if we can work out scheduling, yeah, I’d like to try it. Defensive stuff?”
“That and some real-world conditioning. None of this steroid BS that’s going around.”
“Yeah, definitely. Maybe Steve Bilzarian will let me open, and I can get my workouts in here before we practice? That might work. I’ll ask when he gets back from his vacation next week.”
“Excellent! Let me know; you know where my office is. Now, you’ve got three lovely ladies waiting on you in the lobby. What are you doing standing here talking to me?”
Jeff sat on the deck over the store’s loading dock, his drink abandoned on the table next to him. The ice in the glass melted away fifteen minutes ago. He looked up into the dark night sky searching for his old friend but clouds behind Bilzarian’s obscured his view of Orion tonight. The screen door from the apartment creaked when it opened. An arm snaked gently around him while a familiar face pressed itself to his. Jeff’s hand came up to stroke the arm over his chest.
“Jeff? It’s almost two in the morning. What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry, Allison.”
“For what? Because you stopped earlier? Jeff, I know Keiko was being honest when she told you to keep yourself open to love while you were apart, but I wonder how kind that was to a person like you. Underneath it all you’re a gentle, caring soul. I think we were both hoping for, expecting, too much when we ran into each other when you got home. How long have you been awake?”
“I haven’t been able to sleep yet.”
“You’ve been keeping yourself awake over-thinking things, haven’t you?”
“You deserve better than this, Allison. You deserve someone who’s not holding back.”
“I want what I’ve got, Jeff. I’ll find my forever guy, my male Keiko, some day. Here and now, I want you and what you’re able to give. I’m happy, Jeff. That’s what matters to me.”
“How, Allison? I don’t get it, how are you able to be happy with a guy who’s in love with another woman three thousand miles away?”
Allison released him. She walked around the chair and sat in his lap as she’d done in the kitchen a month ago. “Do you love me?” He nodded, pain and sorrow on his face. “I love you too, you big dummy. If our summer together is limited to stopping at third base, then we should be happy with the triple; I’d much prefer that than getting thrown out at home, to losing our friendship. I can feel that you love me when you touch me, see it in your eyes when you look at me. I know my place in your life is as your friend now, and not as your wife or lover. Keiko is a lucky woman; I’d better be on your guest list when the time comes.”
He smiled gratefully at her. “I’m the lucky one, Allison, to have you and Heather as my friends still.”
“Come back to bed,” she whispered as she led him back inside to his bedroom. She held him while he fell into a dreamless sleep.
“Lift with the legs, boys!” Jeff called to the summer stock staff. They were restocking the bags of mulch, lawn fertilizer and pet food around the stock room. Jeff was restocking with them; he wasn’t one to stand back and watch. Genius, which is what Jeff still called Eric DuBront, had given Jeff a wide berth since Steve introduced him as the stock foreman to the summer help. Charlie smiled and gave Jeff a thumbs-up from the back of the room on that day.
There was one small, wiry boy that summer named Paul Ezekiel who’d do any job assigned to him without whining about it. Unfortunately, other than Charlie, Paul was the exception rather than the rule when it came to the summer staff; he was the only other non-Bilzarian Jeff would recommend for retention after that summer. Jeff asked Paul to help him replace the mulch in front of the store when the stocking was complete.
“How are things going this summer, Paul?”
“Better now that you’re in charge of us.”
“Getting shit before that, were you?”
“You could say that. Charlie tried to block some of it, but there was only so much he could do.”
“Why do you think things changed?”
“Because you could snap DuBront in half like a rotten tree limb!”
“Because I wouldn’t back down when the genius tried to act all superior when I first started cleaning upstairs.”
“That was great,” Paul laughed. “I thought he was going to shit himself.”
“He won’t be BMOC forever, Paul. There’s always someone bigger and badder around. Me, I’m pretty easy-going until you push me, then I’ll go for your throat. Bullies don’t like to be called on their BS. Sometimes you get your ass kicked, but you take it and keep stepping. Don’t change who you are for anybody.”
“Isn’t that what the Army did to you, though? Change you?”
“Not so much change me as file the rough edges off the high school kid I’d been. They do that so you’ll fit in the Army. Underneath it all, I don’t think they changed me all that much.”
“And now you date a supermodel.”
Jeff laughed. “Oh, Allison will love you when she hears that! Do you know who Allison was in high school?” Paul shook his head. “She was our class valedictorian, Paul; she’ll tell you she was the ugly duckling until our senior year. She was my friend first. She didn’t become my girlfriend until after New Year’s our senior year. And wait until I introduce you to Heather.”
“You know more than one supermodel?”
“Heather’s more like my older sister than a girlfriend. She grew up in Greenwich and went to VRHS, but we didn’t meet until ‘88.”
“Do you have any guy friends you hang around with?”
“I used to, Paul. My best friend from Thompkins is in medical school in Baltimore.”
“What about from the Army?” Paul saw Jeff get a far-away look in his eye. “Sorry, I should have known that one.”
“What do you mean?” Paul pointed at his right arm. The kanji for “Takahashi” was visible.
“I know what a ‘Gold Star family’ is. That day we were moving the ice melt out? When it was about ninety-five and you had your shirt off? I knew what I was looking at.”
At lunch Jeff made two phone calls. “Hey, Paul, can you hang around a few minutes after we close today?”
“Yeah, Jeff, not a problem.” Paul lived a few streets away and would walk home.
Paul waited in the stock area while Jeff locked the front of the store that evening. Jeff waved him to the loading dock when he came back through. Jeff handed Paul a bottle of Coke and motioned for him to wait on the edge of the dock. Paul nearly snorted the soda out his nose when he saw two women come down the stairs from Jeff’s apartment. He knew one was Allison, Jeff’s girlfriend; the other must be Heather. Both gave him tight hugs and kisses on the cheek. Paul wouldn’t wash his face for weeks now.
The four stood on the dock talking for an hour. Paul acquitted himself well, looking the women in the eye while he talked to them and not stammering at all. The topic of discussion ranged from history to physics to sports; Paul kept up with the three older friends. He eventually needed to excuse himself, explaining that he had to leave for a late supper.
“I bet that kid scores the head cheerleader as his girlfriend this year,” Heather mentioned as Paul walked out of sight.
“No bet,” Jeff answered. “What would you ladies like for dinner?”
“How about the lasagne we made you?” Allison asked.
“You made me dinner?”
“Yep, your supermodels do more than appear on magazine covers. Come on.”
Allison and Jeff held hands while he drove their rental from the airport. They were in Amarillo, Texas, for Jenna Farrier and Oscar Infante’s wedding; the wedding would be tomorrow, Saturday, August twenty-fourth. Her parents would arrive in Austin that same night; Allison would fly to Austin on Sunday and meet them there.
“Sure does get warm down here,” Allison said as they collected their bags. They placed them on the luggage cart Jeff retrieved from the hotel.
“I might start having flashbacks of being at Fort Benning with weather like this. I’ll have to remind Oscar about The Land That Time Forgot when we see him.”
“They call it ‘The Land That Time Forgot?’”
Jeff sang:
His home is Benning, Georgia,
The land that time forgo-ot.
The mud is eighteen inches deep,
The sun is blazing ho-ot!Airbo-o-o-orne,
Ranger-er-er-er-er!
“You people are weird.”
“We jumped out of planes voluntarily, remember?”
“Like I said.”
“And you keep hanging around me why?”
Allison stopped him just short of the hotel service desk. She pulled him down for a long, soft kiss. “Because I love you, Jeff,” she whispered.
“I love you too, Allison.” They turned to the desk to find a hotel employee smiling at them. “Hi, we’re checking in. Last name of Knox? Two nights?”
“Ah, yes, Mr. and Mrs. Knox,” the young woman answered. Allison had a bemused smile on her face when Jeff looked. She shook her head, which told him not to correct the desk clerk. “You’re joining us for the Farrier-Infante wedding tomorrow?” Jeff nodded and the woman produced paperwork for him to sign. Once completed she handed him their room key.
Allison was able to hold her laughter until they were in the elevator. “Mrs. Knox? You were in no hurry to correct her, either. I noticed that was even before I shot that look at you.”
Jeff gathered her into his arms. “I wish, Allison,” he whispered while he stroked her cheek. “I wish.” Even though he knew his future was with Keiko, part of him was crushed knowing he was hurting his friend.
Allison’s eyes watered and she put her head on his chest. “Don’t make me cry! This weekend is supposed to be a happy time! Happy!”
They held their embrace until the elevator reached their floor. He handed Allison the key while he wrestled the cart out of the cramped space. Sunlight streamed through the window of the hotel room as they entered; the window offered a great view of the Texas panhandle’s landscape from the edge of Amarillo. He unloaded the cart onto the king-sized bed. Allison would unpack while he brought the cart back to the lobby.
Returning the cart took fifteen minutes. The elevator stopped at every floor on the way down, as well as the way up; their room was on the fifth floor. Jeff noted their clothes hanging up in the closet near the door as he reentered. The empty suitcases were at the bottom of the closet, too. His eyes nearly popped out of his head upon stepping into the room proper.
At sixteen Allison had been a pretty girl. Kathy Stein helped uncover the beautiful girl she’d become their senior year. At twenty-two, Jeff believed she lived up to the title of “supermodel” Paul Ezekiel gave her almost a month ago. His twenty-two year-old supermodel brainiac girlfriend was stretched out on the turned-down bed. She seemed to have lost all her clothes before getting on it.
“We’ve got a few hours before we need to be outside for the wedding rehearsal. Whatever should we do for those few hours, Jeffrey?”
Time flies when you’re having fun.
They stepped into the late afternoon Texas sun just before five-thirty. Both showered and dressed in comfortable clothes for the night’s activities. They held hands while they approached a man Jeff hadn’t seen in over two years. Oscar smiled and hugged Jeff tightly, ignoring the outstretched hand; he slapped Jeff on the back when they embraced.
“You look good, mano!” Jeff said, smiling back at Oscar.
“You too, bro.” Oscar’s smooth voice was gone, replaced by a rough, raspy one. It was an acceptable trade-off to Jeff; the alternative was almost a funeral and not a wedding for Oscar’s family. “You remember Jenna, right?”
“How could I forget such a lovely young lady, Oscar? It’s good to see you again, Jenna.” Jeff gave Jenna a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, I used to be the shmooze, remember?”
“Yes, Oscar, but you’ve been reformed. Someone’s gotta fill the role. Anyway, Jenna Farrier, Oscar Infante, please meet Miss Allison Newbury; as of Monday, Allison will be a Masters candidate in physics at the University of Texas in Austin. Allison, Jenna Farrier and Oscar Infante.”
“It’s very nice to meet you both. Oscar, Ken told us about the accident when we came down to visit Jeff that March. I’m very glad that we’ll be able to celebrate your special day with you tomorrow.”
Oscar nodded at her. She and Jenna soon moved off to get acquainted. Oscar bought Jeff a beer. “I owe you this at least, Jeff.”
“You owe me a lifetime of happiness with Jenna, Oscar, nothing more. Salud!“ Jeff took a swig of his beer. “Of course, you could name your first-born son after me. That’d be nice.”
“I don’t think they’ll put ‘Asshole Infante’ on the kid’s birth certificate, Jeff.”
Jeff found it amusing that his actions the day Oscar was injured meant he was considered a minor saint in the Infante household; his command of Spanish confirmed it. The fact that his beautiful girlfriend was a physicist who also spoke Spanish well meant he was a minor god to the younger male cousins.
“A saint?” he asked Oscar after the rehearsal dinner. “You must not have told your family about that cantina in Honduras, then?”
“Jezus, would you keep your voice down? Are you trying to get me killed right before my wedding?”
The next day Jeff stood with the rest of the groomsmen while Jenna and Oscar exchanged vows. Jeff looked like he was watching the couple getting married; in truth, he was watching Allison out of the corner of his eye. He knew the rule was to never upstage the bride on her wedding day, but Allison would draw the eye wearing a trash bag. He’d known her for years and he still couldn’t keep his eye off her.
After all the pomp and ceremony was over, and the dancing underway, Allison and Jeff were on the dance floor when a familiar Elvis song began to play:
Wise men say only fools rush in,
But I can’t help falling in love with you.
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin?
If I can’t help falling in love with you.
Allison put her head on his chest while they swayed gently to the music. When the song ended Allison kissed him as hard as she could, then darted toward the bathrooms. Jeff took a deep breath and headed to the bar, blinking rapidly. He ordered a double gin and tonic once there. He almost finished it in one gulp.
“Dude, when’s your wedding?” joked Oscar when he appeared at Jeff’s elbow.
“There’s not going to be a wedding, Oscar. Not for Allison and I.”
“What?”
“This is our last night together.”
“WHAT? You mean to tell me you’re breaking up? After what I just saw?”
“Allison will be eight hours south of here starting tomorrow. I’ll be back home in Western Mass. Her future lies elsewhere, while mine’s with Ken Takahashi’s little sister.”
“Alright, now I’m confused.”
“Keiko and her parents came to Bragg during the summer of 1989, just after you’d been hurt and a year before Ken PCS’ed to Stewart and the 24th; it was love at first sight when we met. I don’t know exactly when we’ll be together again, but you and Jenna will be getting a wedding invitation from us one day.”
“But ... what about Allison?”
Jeff finished his gin and tonic. The bartender asked if he wanted a refill. “Just the tonic water, please. No gin.” She nodded, refilled the glass with tonic water and moved to the next customer. Jeff turned back to Oscar. “Allison and I have been dating off-and-on since senior year in high school; we’ve been friends even longer than that. Before we started up again this summer we both agreed things would end when she left for graduate school, especially in light of things with Keiko. That Elvis song was us to a T, Oscar; I think we’re both more than just a little in love with each other. Damn this hurts.” Oscar put a companionable arm around the fellow paratrooper.
“You makin’ time with my guy, Infante?”
Both men turned to find Allison and Jenna standing behind them; Allison wore a brave face and her hands were on her hips. Jenna looked sad; Allison must have filled her in as well. Oscar smiled slightly, kissed Allison on the cheek, then moved off with his wife without saying a word. The two friends were left standing by themselves. Neither said a word for almost a minute.
“Allison, I...” She closed the distance and silenced him with a finger to his lips. She took his hand and led him wordlessly out of the reception. The time spent in the elevator stretched; the silence was uncomfortable, painful. Allison didn’t speak until they were in their room with the door locked behind them. Her dress fell to the floor.
“Batter up.”
Jeff helped Allison pack before they went down to breakfast the next morning; the silence in the room was more deafening than the silence of the trip in the elevator the night before. Jenna and Oscar were hosting a going-away meal for their out-of-town guests. Allison and Jeff occupied themselves by talking to others at breakfast, not each other; neither wanted to say something to the other that would set off the waterworks. Like his last morning with Pauline in 1986, Jeff clung to Allison’s hand like a lifeline while he ate.
He loaded her two bags into the rental for their trip back to English Field. His flight back to Bradley wasn’t until later that evening; his bags were back at the hotel, behind the service desk. The trip to the airport was mercifully short. There were no restrictions in accompanying Allison to her gate. They sat, still holding hands, in the chairs there for a half-hour before they started calling her flight. The end of the road had come. They stood and embraced.
“Jeff, I love you,” she said in a whisper, not trusting her voice at a louder volume.
“I love you too, Allison. I promise that has not, and will never, change.”
They called her row on the flight. She pressed her lips to his in one last passionate kiss. There was a hint of a smile on her lips when they broke the kiss, a smile he wasn’t expecting.
“Good game last night, by the way. Five-for-five with five triples is pretty impressive.” She leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Oh, and insure that tongue of yours. Keiko will like that when the time comes.” She leaned back and placed a hand on his cheek, gazing into his eyes. “Take care of yourself, Jeffrey Andrew Knox. I’ll see you again someday.”
