44. Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Four
“So, how’s he doing?” Tom asks when I sit back down.
“He didn’t say much, to be honest. He owns half of this place now, apparently. He’s sold the townhouse.”
I watch as he takes a swig of his beer, looking around. “What else did he say?”
“Nothing, really. He looked very preoccupied and I didn’t want to pry or anything.”
My eyes wander around the room, taking in the young couples drinking and kissing, giggling, and petting each other, the eroticism heavy in the air. I smile when I think back to me and Tom in our twenties, how carefree we were, almost making out in public, just like these youngsters filling this room tonight.
“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” he asks.
“What is?”
“Watching them, the hunger in their eyes. Don’t you see it, too?”
I smile because he always gets me. “I do, babe,” I whisper, as he takes my hand, squeezing softly. “I hope they get so lucky to live a love like ours,” I add, staring at a couple kissing.
I don’t even notice when he puts a little box on the table until he pushes it next to my Mojito.
“Tom, baby. What did you do?”
He purses his lips, then smiles as I take it in my hands.
“Open it.”
My fingers tremble as I undo the wrapping, wondering what I’ll find inside. A moment later, I pull out the small golden frame, and my eyes well up when I turn it around and see a portrait of one of the first photographs we took together in watercolor and an inscription of his first message to me under it.
You have twenty-four hours to decide if you want to go out with me again tomorrow.
I reach out and squeeze his hand, barely holding back the tears.
“Here's to twenty-five amazing years together, sweetheart. I can't wait for the next twenty-five.”
“I love you, Tom. It’s perfect.”
It's strange how some people never find what they’re looking for and some are blessed with a love like ours, forged by fire and steel. Maybe fate has made some hard decisions for us but we chose to stick the storms out and come out on the other side stronger.
And, my husband, well, he’s nothing short of my knight in shining armor. I may be broken and depraved, but somehow, Tom recognizes himself in me; after all, I am his creation. He molded me into what I am today and I am and forever will be his and he’ll still win every battle for my heart since that chilly December night he asked me to be his girlfriend.
The End
***
Afterword
I was wondering if I should add this at the beginning of the story or here, at the end, so, here it goes;
I have a confession to make. The introductory message Tom sent to Lisa was actually the very first message my husband sent me on my cell phone back in December of 1999 when I first met him. We've been together ever since.
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