Chapter 12 Before
Before
“Can we go home now?” Annabelle’s mother asked, as soon as Annabelle walked into the room. Miriam was sitting in a chair at the small table in her room, an open photo album in front of her.
“Hi, Mom.” Annabelle took a seat next to her. “That was a fun day,” she said, pointing to the picture of the two of them in front of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. It had been taken when Annabelle was still in high school.
Miriam pointed to the picture at the bottom of the album, of their old house in Fairfield. “I want to go home.”
Annabelle swallowed and took her mother’s hand in hers. “We had to sell the house, Mom. It was a lot to take care of. That’s why you’re here. So you can have some help.”
Miriam didn’t answer right away, then looked over at her daughter. “Did you pass your driver’s test?”
Annabelle nodded. “Yep. Do you want to go for a drive?”
Her mother shook her head. “I’m tired. I think I’ll take a nap. Sorry, honey, you’ll have to make your own dinner tonight.”
“It’s fine, Mom. Let me help you.”
She got her mom settled into bed, even though it was only three o’clock.
Miriam barely ate these days and was always exhausted.
Within minutes, the soft sound of her snoring filled the room.
Annabelle leaned back into the armchair next to the bed and closed her eyes, summoning memories of better days.
She hated seeing her mother disappear before her eyes, becoming a stranger.
Her deepest fear was that over time, the memories made with this new version of her mother would eclipse the cherished ones of her as she used tobe.
When it became apparent that her mother would be sleeping for a long while, Annabelle decided to go home and get some studying done before going to Randy’s place.
His roommate was on call again, so the coast was clear.
She hated being here after five, when her mother would become even more confused, to the point where she sometimes didn’t even recognize Annabelle.
She was surprised to see Randy’s car when she pulled up to her apartment at Mrs. Miller’s house.
“Hi, wasn’t I supposed to come to you?”
He leaned in and kissed her. “James is home, so I came here.”
Disappointment filled her. This meant they’d have only a few hours together, since Mrs. Miller was not a fan of overnight guests.
Annabelle liked and respected her too much to give her any flak about her rule regarding “gentlemen callers,” even though it was outdated.
But she had a good thing here, and she didn’t want to rock the boat.
“I guess we can order takeout. My fridge is pretty bare.”
“I’m not really hungry. For food anyway,” Randy said, raising his eyebrows and giving her a meaningful look.
When they entered her apartment, he pulled her to him and kissed her.
Her knees almost buckled; their chemistry was off the charts.
She ran her hands through his hair as they fell onto the sofa, peeling off clothing and throwing it to the floor.
Desire flooded her as he kissed her neck and continued down her body.
Randy wasn’t her first, but she’d never felt this intensity with anyone else.
“Do you have a condom?” she whispered, her breath coming in short bursts.
“Shit, no. I’ll pull out.”
A little voice warned her to stop him, but this felt too good, so she silenced it and gave in to the sweet surrender of her body and Randy’s becoming one. When it was over, they lay together, wrapped in each other’s arms.
“I love you,” Randy said, his lips against her head.
Those words made elation and relief flow through her. “I love you too,” she replied. A sense of contentment and joy filled her. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel regret for what might have been. This was proof that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.