Page 15 of Luke
“Well?” Luke asks as he strides into the empty space. “What do you think, Alice?”
“I think you’re going to have to breathe some life into it,” she says. A smile appears in one corner of her mouth. “I think you two will be able to pull it off.”
“High praise,” Luke laughs. “Are you sure you don’t want to move in with us? We have three bedrooms now.”
“I’m not an invalid just yet,” my mother winks. “When I am, this is the first place I’ll come.”
“Noted. Our boys will have to be content with sharing the second bedroom,” Luke nods.
“Our boys?” I raise my brow. “I think our girls will fight over closet space.”
“What if you have a boy and a girl?” My mother asks.
“Then we’ll build you a She Shed in the backyard,” Luke grins.
“This man has thought of everything,” she laughs. “Your eventual children are going to grow up in a fairytale.”
I’m not pregnant. At least, not yet. Luke and I agreed that while we could get engaged and married within the month, we want to date. We want to have the experiences we should have had in high school.
Marriage and children are in the future. We talk about it as easily as we talk about what to make for dinner or watch on TV.
As eager as I am to embark on that part of my life’s journey with him, I also want to savor every moment.
No more stolen fantasies. No more looking in from the outside. No more wishing. It’s all become my reality.
When we first started walking out and about together, people looked at us strangely. At first, my old fears resurfaced. I worried everyone would think I wasn’t the sort of girl he should be with. Then, I simply stopped caring. I’m too damn happy to let my fear stop me from having what I want.
“I’m going to head home. It’s nearly time to take my meds.”
I give my mother a hug goodbye. Luke walks her to her car.
When we’re all alone, he takes me in his arms, and kisses me hard enough to make me forget my name.
“This is a nice, spacious house,” he says.
“It is,” I agree, pulling him in for another kiss.
“There are a lot of rooms,” he says.
“Indeed.”
“We better get started now if we’re going to christen all of them before the furniture arrives.”
I giggle against his mouth. “Let’s start right here.”
To be continued…
