By Penelope Anne Bartotto (Got You Covered)
Prologue...
They say that love happens when you least expect it, that searching for it is a vain pursuit. I think they are correct on both accounts. I had tried hunting for love like a tigress on the prowl, and came back with battle scars that nobody would be proud of. Face it ladies, we are not meant to be cruising the world looking for the perfect match, because we tend to travel with blinders on. I know I had been.
My latest stomping grounds had been a suburb of Houston, Texas, and I think I can without a doubt state, I made a mess of things there. I guess, finding myself on a Greyhound bus in the middle of the night heading home, should not have been a surprise. Long bus rides give you time to think, time to review the past, and make decisions about the future. I can say that I was not once tempted by any toothless men at the odd bus stops we made along the trip between Texas and Wisconsin. Somewhere along the way my parents taught me enough to not do that.
The first sign of getting closer to home, was that magnificent arch in St. Louis. I knew then that I was soon going to be stepping off a bus, where one of my parents would be waiting to collect their failure of a daughter, again.
The Tale to be Told...
The bus pulled into the narrow, dark, dank, and smelly garage that acted as the bus terminal. Why the city had yet to find a better location for the Greyhound station Joe could not fathom. He snubbed out his cigarette and walked across the street to pick up his daughter, Anne, who was gathering her luggage. He popped up behind her and grabbed the heaviest bag, giving her a smile, momentarily thinking how lucky he was to have a daughter like her. Then he remembered that they had just bailed her ass out of what seemed to be her millionth sticky situation in the past three years. He had shipped her off to Texas in hopes that his sister could straighten her out. His sister was lifetime Navy and was prepared to recruit that girl if it took her to hell and back. Sadly, that hadn't happened and he couldn't even explain why, actually he wasn't even sure he knew why Anne had needed to get out of Texas so fast.
Anne looked at her dad and sighed, she knew that he was disappointed in her, but frankly that was the story of their relationship since she was about eight. Her younger sister became the center of everyone's universe, and she became the kicked dog in the corner. Nothing she did was ever good enough, right, or sometimes even noticed; unless it was in the least bit bad. She knew that nothing she said would make her parents believe that what had happened in Texas was all truth and nothing but the truth, they would believe what they wanted. Thus, the concocted lie her aunt and uncle fed them was surely why she had received the bus ticket home. Forget the fact she had called them crying from a friend's house, hurt, confused, and feeling lost, needing their help. Marcus understood, he had seen it himself. His family understood, and took me in, and had even driven her to the bus depot in the middle of the night to help her get off safely. They had even arranged the shipment of the items she couldn't bring home with her on the bus due to luggage limits. Her mom would pay for nothing more than the basic ticket, which meant the route home was far from direct.
The story of her life, that seemed to be in an annoying continuous loop.
Nothing much was said on the ride home, which was probably for the best as there was more than enough discussed, heatedly, once she arrived home. Her mother had plenty to say and after a few drinks dad had his turn berating her. Then when he hit that philosophical stage of inebriation at around midnight he attempted to console her. The joke that was her life was so thrilling to be a part of, not.
Her mother made sure she would not have time to pout, as she pulled a few strings and Anne had a whole two nights and one day to recover from the trauma that had been her adventures in the south, before she would start work. Mom sure knew how to help her out. Work, work, work. If it was good enough for her, it was better for Anne. No daughter of hers was going to sit around the house and do nothing, not on her watch. Anne braced herself for a new job, as she cried over everything that had been lost that frightful afternoon in Texas. No amount of pillowcases absorbed the tears that the pain created.
Monday morning, early November in Wisconsin, a far cry from the heat wave that she had been in just a few days back. Work started at 6am so she was up and dressed with plenty of time to spare. At least the hours were not going to be hard on her, as she had worked a similar shift at the grocery store, she had abruptly left upon her departure from Texas. She missed the friends she had made, but not the drama that had sent her packing. Her parents were determined to not discuss the topic, so Anne decided that she would start today as a new chapter in the novel that was her life. No sad eyes, no blue thoughts, just smiles, and happiness.
Anne liked her new job, and her coworker Victoria, just call me Vicki was a wonderful person to talk to. One day Vicki started to express interest in Anne's past, and Anne shared what she was willing to, though not all that there was to be shared. Somehow during the twists and turns of the discussion Anne expressed that she really missed having someone to go out with, to movies, dinner, and shopping. She explained that she had just returned from an extended stay out of state and that she had lost touch with pretty much all of her local friends who she had hung out with, and that she really missed just being able to go out and have fun.
Vicki looked at Anne with a rather crooked grin and said four words, that would change both of their lives forever, "I have a son."
Indeed, Vicki went on to extol Anne on the many qualities of her son, Lee. His age, how he had a job, what he did, that he was handsome (mother's point of view), and many more interesting things. She was eager to say that she thought Lee would love to hang out with Anne, but she also stressed very emphatically that he was not looking for a "relationship". Anne chuckled to herself, thinking how ironic that was and told Vicki that was the farthest thing from her mind at the moment. A relationship would only complicate her already vexing, soap opera of a life. Vicki said she would talk to her son, and that she didn't know what he would say, but she was sure that he would get back to her.
Thanksgiving was coming and Anne so did not relish another boring holiday with her family. Joe and Audrey and no desire to make anything out of the holidays as the years passed, her parents had made holidays something to dread, not enjoy. Prospects were a horrible concoction called "turkey loaf" that Anne highly doubted contained turkey, or reservations at a local restaurant. There was nothing joyful about the holiday, nothing to look forward to, except working the day before. The only reason that was to be enjoyable was because she had a thrilling activity planned for the day as Vicki had the day off.
Wednesday dawned and Anne woke with a smile, and a little skip in her step, she had no idea why, but she just felt good. She dressed down for the day, in fact, selecting the grunge clothes that she wouldn't mind if they got stained, she also stuffed another outfit in a bag as she knew that she would be changing clothes after the activity. The activity was a hit, not one person did not have a blast. There were smiles abundant in the room that day. She was attempting to clean up after the activity, so she did not notice the man who had come wandering across the darkened pathway between classrooms.
Lee, wasn't even sure why he was doing this, his mother had tried setting him up with women in the past, and it had been one disaster after another. Mom's taste in women who she thought he would love, ran the gamut of ice queens to bulls with breasts. Why he thought this one was going to be any different, he wasn't sure. Her name was Anne, and she worked with his mom, the working with his mom should have been enough of a warning sign to send him the other direction, but it hadn't.
There he was checking in at the front desk, face to face with a nemesis of his past, one he would soon discover would be so much more as time went on. After the lecture that normally they would not allow visitors for safety reasons, he was directed to where he would find Anne. He wondered again, could this really be worth all the trouble?
The lights were all dimmed as they were starting to settle things down, as it was the day before Thanksgiving, the quiet was surprising, but nice. He rounded the corner he had been told would lead him to the room Anne was working in, and stopped in his tracks.
He was dumbstruck, breathless, and thought he surely had to be dreaming. Before him stood an angel, albeit one covered in what appeared to be chocolate pudding and whip cream. The girl standing there, so gracefully juggling 4 happy children, glowed with a beauty all her own, and he was struck in the heart. For some reason, the thought popped into his mind, that if any woman would ever be the mother of his children, she was the one. He had no clue where that thought had come from, he had never even considered marriage to be a part of his future. He considered turning around, walking away, but at the moment she looked up and smiled.
"Can I help you?" she asked with a lyrical, sweet voice that made his heart skip a beat. He tried to shrug off these strange feelings that were sweeping over him, but that was proving harder than walking was at the moment. Somehow he managed to take the last few steps needed to get to the low wall that enclosed the classroom area, and rather shyly for him, say, "Hi, I'm looking for Anne."
"That's me," she said while a young boy tried eagerly to crawl up her leg. "You are?"
"Lee, my mom is Vicki." he said like that would be enough to relate everything his mind was thinking. Oh the things his mind was thinking, who knew chocolate pudding and whip cream could be so sexy.
"Sorry, she's not here today, she has off," Anne said while she shifted one wiggly child from her hip to her shoulder and deftly lifted her leg which had a wee girl attached to her calf, and shifted towards the changing area. He was amazed at how well behaved the children were and how well she handled them.
His mouth was having troubles forming the words he wanted to say, and this was a completely foreign thing to him, he usually had no problems speaking his mind. She just did something to him. He gave himself a mental shake and then spoke, a bit softly, "I know, I am Lee, her son."
He waited, but decided to push forward before he lost his courage, "Are you Anne? She mentioned you and I had time to stop by today so I did."
Great, just her luck, a handsome guy shows up to meet her, and her first impression is anything but stellar. She's dressed in her oldest, grungiest clothes. She is covered in chocolate pudding from head to toe, and whip cream too, and there are 4 kids demanding her full attention. Life was once again giving her lemons to make tart lemonade with, was sugar so hard to come by, she thought.
The children suddenly seemed to be wild, and she had to beg his forgiveness for a few minutes while she cleaned the four mini-whirlwinds up, and tucked each on their cot for their nap.
Lee watched her as she skillfully handled each child's needs, how she tenderly attended to each little one with what could only be honest joy to be there, with them, at that moment. He had never seen a little one look so lovingly at someone that wasn't their own parent before, and it amazed him. She tucked each of them on their little blue cots, and once all were asleep, she got someone to cover her, so she could change clothes and take her break. He could have cared less if she changed clothes though, he'd quite enjoyed the singularly, unique scent of pudding and whip cream.
Anne, rushed through changing clothes and washing up, She brushed her, wished she had some make-up with her, but realized he already saw her looking a fright, he should hopefully be able to handle her without make-up. There was the part of her that feared she would get to the staff break room and find that he had run away, that it was all a dream, that would never come true.
She through her bag in the teacher's locker-room and headed into the break room, fully expecting it to be empty, it wasn't. There he sat, comfortably on the chair by the window, looking nonchalant and at ease. She felt anything but at ease, her heart felt like it was skipping beats and her brain felt all mushy inside, she was even lacking courage, so she could play all three roles in the cast for "The Wizard of Oz", they'd only need to find a Dorothy.
Lee looked up, and was just as awed by her natural beauty, she fairly glowed, bringing a brightness not only to the room, but also to his rather dark heart. He had nothing in his life that felt very bright, until now, and he sure as hell hoped he did nothing that screwed things up. She sat down in a chair across from him, and an awkward silence ensued for a few minutes. Only a few though, and then he heard her voice again and he couldn't help but feel a chill creep up his back, a good chill, more like a thrill. Her voice was something he could listen to for hours. Alas, he didn't have hours today, and neither did she, just mere minutes were allowed them, and if one of them didn't act fast everything would fade away and then what would come to pass, he didn't know.
The conversation sped faster than she did when she drove by herself and she never would remember how it came to pass that they had scheduled a date for December first. She walked him to the door of the daycare center, said a quick goodbye, and turned to see her mother staring at her from behind the front desk. The interrogation was bound to begin, but her mother just smiled and shrugged before returning to her paperwork. How very odd, but Anne was not about to let the opportunity pass to get out of there. Her work day soon finished and then the waiting game began.
Anne dressed and redressed a number of times before she found the perfect outfit, or at least as close to perfect as she could. She applied the little bit of makeup that she preferred to wear, her perfume, and then she went downstairs to wait for the doorbell to ring. The first of December, and she wondered again would he really appear, would the man she had met leave her hurt like the rest in her past, or would she find something there. Her father seemed anxious, her mother wore an odd smirk, and her younger sister could care less what her sister was doing. She watched the minute hand tick on the wall clock, and waited. The hour had just started when the doorbell rang, and her heart leaped into her throat as she jumped from the couch to get the door. Oddly her father beat her there, and held her back. Her father cared enough to meet the guy at the door, something seemed weird about that to her, but she was just glad to see Lee standing there on the stoop.
Once her father had deemed it safe for her to leave, she greeted Lee and approved greatly of his quite handsome dress. He whisked her off, and said she hoped she was hungry as they had reservations. Her mind was awhirl with thoughts as to where they could possibly be going in town that would require reservations, and came up blank. So, she sat back in the seat and waited to be surprised, even though she was not a fan of surprises, as so many ended up a nightmare.
Lee, was far from intimidated by the dad at the door, not that he had run into that ever before, just something about the guy, said it was all just for show. He was struck by Anne's beauty as she appeared from the gloom of the room, and saw nothing but her after that. He hoped harder than he had ever hoped before, that she would like the plans that he'd made.
He had put more thought into this night than he had done for anything before, and he still wondered why, why was this night so important. He'd talked to his mom and knew Anne was not looking for a relationship, and he had felt the same way, until that fateful day before Thanksgiving. From the minute he'd left the Pitter-patter Daycare Center, he could not stop thinking about Anne. He saw her eyes everywhere, heard her voice in his sleep, smelled the sweet scent of pudding wafting passed in the most obscure places. There was something about her that made his heart sing.
The restaurant was a bit crowded, and they had to wait at the bar before being seated. They chatted over a drink, soda for each, they soon found their first thing in common, the fact that they didn't desire an alcoholic drink. Neither was one to imbibe frequently it seemed, and that was fine for them. No clouded reactions, no bizarre behavior to regret the next morning. They got to their table and they waited to order.
Anne was in awe as they sat in the supper club she would never dream of going to as the prices were higher than anything she had ever been treated to. The prices kept jumping at her, screaming expensive, and she was wondering what she could order without going overboard, and then he simply said something she had never heard before, "Order whatever you like, you love it here, and it is my treat."
Lee, hoped she would listen and order something she'd like. He was tired of those who he would try to treat, who wasted his money on bird food meals, in attempt to prove they kept their girlish figure by not eating much. Anne, was beautiful just as she was, no need to be dieting or putting on airs, which so far she hadn't. In fact, she seem shy tonight, and that just made him like her, and want to protect her. Where that feeling came from he could not guess, his heart and his mind were a tangled mess. He breathed a sigh of relief when she ordered a fish dinner, and he ordered a steak. He thought the dinner would be awkward, but they soon started talking and both were amazed as thing after thing, was another they had in common.
They talked about their dreams, they talked about life, they talked about the past in bots and pieces, and they soon realized that they had so much in common that it was like life had only been allowing them to walk on a parallel path until that night. Now, their paths had intersected and it was only a matter of seeing where the new path would lead. Before they knew it the meal was finished and they had places to be, Lee had planned the evening to the detail, and a movie was next on the agenda. As they waited for the waitress to return with the bill, Lee said the silliest of things, "You know I would marry you, would you marry me?" The look of shock on Anne's face, was a little off-putting, until she smiled, and asked, "Did you just propose?" He nodded yes, as he didn't trust his voice, and waited for her reply. "I cannot see why not," she said with a chuckle, and ended with the simple word, "Yes."
The rest of the night flew by, a movie, a drive, a kiss and a snuggle. Somehow they had went from two lonely people to a couple.
Anne arrived home, and found both parents awake, an odd occurrence to be sure. Had something bad happened, has somebody died, why were they waiting for her, sitting side by side? They tried to rain on her happiness parade, they tried hard to push her away from Lee, and from his family. The things that they said hurt and seemed petty. She went up to bed, he heart feeling heavy. Were the things that they said, just out of spite, was the proposal for real, or just words said without thought? Sunday went by, and she told her mother finally that he had proposed, she smiled, but then said simply, "Who knows, could be for real, could be a joke."
The next week was quite busy, and her Lee worked opposite shifts, phone calls were not easy, as they never were home at the same times. She soon began to think that it had all been a dream, a good one nonetheless, but nothing more than that.
A blizzard swept in, and the daycare was frantically dealing with parents arriving and others calling, as they rushed to get everyone home safe before the snow started falling. Weather in Wisconsin could be sunny and bright, and seconds later all you would see was the winter white. Mom was the assistant director and left with the job of being the last staffer on site, so Anne was stuck there waiting it out. There suddenly, out of winter snow, came a vision of a red beard covered in snow. There was Lee, trampling through the blizzard, and she smiled so wide, that he saw it, and it was his beacon to follow. Work had been cancelled and he'd spoke to his mom, knew right where to find, Anne and made it his plan to spend that night with her. The car hadn't started, so he got on a bus, the bus soon got stuck in the frozen mush. So, he got out and he started to hike across the city to meet the new girl in his life. The news reporter stopped him, said what brought out in this winter fright, and he said, "I'm going to go the girl, I hope will be my wife."
He came through the door, nodded at her mom, and she rushed to his arms, and hugged him so tight, that he felt warmth spread to his soul, and he knew then and there that, she was the woman he wanted for the rest of his life.
Epilogue...
The engagement ring was placed upon her finger before December had ended, many opposed, and some were offended. People said that it could never last, that love didn't happen that fast. April arrived, and they walked down the aisle, her father was proud and her mother did smile. They married that day, and they walked many paths, alone and together, but none would be better than the path that brought them together. One mother says it was all her doing, the other says she knew it is was coming. Yet, nobody thought that there love could be forever, and yet.... it is now twenty-two years later, three children (two now fully grown), mountains that were climbed, rivers forged, and struggles fought and won... and they are still happily together.
Prologue...
They say that love happens when you least expect it, that searching for it is a vain pursuit. I think they are correct on both accounts. I had tried hunting for love like a tigress on the prowl, and came back with battle scars that nobody would be proud of. Face it ladies, we are not meant to be cruising the world looking for the perfect match, because we tend to travel with blinders on. I know I had been.
My latest stomping grounds had been a suburb of Houston, Texas, and I think I can without a doubt state, I made a mess of things there. I guess, finding myself on a Greyhound bus in the middle of the night heading home, should not have been a surprise. Long bus rides give you time to think, time to review the past, and make decisions about the future. I can say that I was not once tempted by any toothless men at the odd bus stops we made along the trip between Texas and Wisconsin. Somewhere along the way my parents taught me enough to not do that.
The first sign of getting closer to home, was that magnificent arch in St. Louis. I knew then that I was soon going to be stepping off a bus, where one of my parents would be waiting to collect their failure of a daughter, again.
The Tale to be Told...
The bus pulled into the narrow, dark, dank, and smelly garage that acted as the bus terminal. Why the city had yet to find a better location for the Greyhound station Joe could not fathom. He snubbed out his cigarette and walked across the street to pick up his daughter, Anne, who was gathering her luggage. He popped up behind her and grabbed the heaviest bag, giving her a smile, momentarily thinking how lucky he was to have a daughter like her. Then he remembered that they had just bailed her ass out of what seemed to be her millionth sticky situation in the past three years. He had shipped her off to Texas in hopes that his sister could straighten her out. His sister was lifetime Navy and was prepared to recruit that girl if it took her to hell and back. Sadly, that hadn't happened and he couldn't even explain why, actually he wasn't even sure he knew why Anne had needed to get out of Texas so fast.
Anne looked at her dad and sighed, she knew that he was disappointed in her, but frankly that was the story of their relationship since she was about eight. Her younger sister became the center of everyone's universe, and she became the kicked dog in the corner. Nothing she did was ever good enough, right, or sometimes even noticed; unless it was in the least bit bad. She knew that nothing she said would make her parents believe that what had happened in Texas was all truth and nothing but the truth, they would believe what they wanted. Thus, the concocted lie her aunt and uncle fed them was surely why she had received the bus ticket home. Forget the fact she had called them crying from a friend's house, hurt, confused, and feeling lost, needing their help. Marcus understood, he had seen it himself. His family understood, and took me in, and had even driven her to the bus depot in the middle of the night to help her get off safely. They had even arranged the shipment of the items she couldn't bring home with her on the bus due to luggage limits. Her mom would pay for nothing more than the basic ticket, which meant the route home was far from direct.
The story of her life, that seemed to be in an annoying continuous loop.
Nothing much was said on the ride home, which was probably for the best as there was more than enough discussed, heatedly, once she arrived home. Her mother had plenty to say and after a few drinks dad had his turn berating her. Then when he hit that philosophical stage of inebriation at around midnight he attempted to console her. The joke that was her life was so thrilling to be a part of, not.
Her mother made sure she would not have time to pout, as she pulled a few strings and Anne had a whole two nights and one day to recover from the trauma that had been her adventures in the south, before she would start work. Mom sure knew how to help her out. Work, work, work. If it was good enough for her, it was better for Anne. No daughter of hers was going to sit around the house and do nothing, not on her watch. Anne braced herself for a new job, as she cried over everything that had been lost that frightful afternoon in Texas. No amount of pillowcases absorbed the tears that the pain created.
Monday morning, early November in Wisconsin, a far cry from the heat wave that she had been in just a few days back. Work started at 6am so she was up and dressed with plenty of time to spare. At least the hours were not going to be hard on her, as she had worked a similar shift at the grocery store, she had abruptly left upon her departure from Texas. She missed the friends she had made, but not the drama that had sent her packing. Her parents were determined to not discuss the topic, so Anne decided that she would start today as a new chapter in the novel that was her life. No sad eyes, no blue thoughts, just smiles, and happiness.
Anne liked her new job, and her coworker Victoria, just call me Vicki was a wonderful person to talk to. One day Vicki started to express interest in Anne's past, and Anne shared what she was willing to, though not all that there was to be shared. Somehow during the twists and turns of the discussion Anne expressed that she really missed having someone to go out with, to movies, dinner, and shopping. She explained that she had just returned from an extended stay out of state and that she had lost touch with pretty much all of her local friends who she had hung out with, and that she really missed just being able to go out and have fun.
Vicki looked at Anne with a rather crooked grin and said four words, that would change both of their lives forever, "I have a son."
Indeed, Vicki went on to extol Anne on the many qualities of her son, Lee. His age, how he had a job, what he did, that he was handsome (mother's point of view), and many more interesting things. She was eager to say that she thought Lee would love to hang out with Anne, but she also stressed very emphatically that he was not looking for a "relationship". Anne chuckled to herself, thinking how ironic that was and told Vicki that was the farthest thing from her mind at the moment. A relationship would only complicate her already vexing, soap opera of a life. Vicki said she would talk to her son, and that she didn't know what he would say, but she was sure that he would get back to her.
Thanksgiving was coming and Anne so did not relish another boring holiday with her family. Joe and Audrey and no desire to make anything out of the holidays as the years passed, her parents had made holidays something to dread, not enjoy. Prospects were a horrible concoction called "turkey loaf" that Anne highly doubted contained turkey, or reservations at a local restaurant. There was nothing joyful about the holiday, nothing to look forward to, except working the day before. The only reason that was to be enjoyable was because she had a thrilling activity planned for the day as Vicki had the day off.
Wednesday dawned and Anne woke with a smile, and a little skip in her step, she had no idea why, but she just felt good. She dressed down for the day, in fact, selecting the grunge clothes that she wouldn't mind if they got stained, she also stuffed another outfit in a bag as she knew that she would be changing clothes after the activity. The activity was a hit, not one person did not have a blast. There were smiles abundant in the room that day. She was attempting to clean up after the activity, so she did not notice the man who had come wandering across the darkened pathway between classrooms.
Lee, wasn't even sure why he was doing this, his mother had tried setting him up with women in the past, and it had been one disaster after another. Mom's taste in women who she thought he would love, ran the gamut of ice queens to bulls with breasts. Why he thought this one was going to be any different, he wasn't sure. Her name was Anne, and she worked with his mom, the working with his mom should have been enough of a warning sign to send him the other direction, but it hadn't.
There he was checking in at the front desk, face to face with a nemesis of his past, one he would soon discover would be so much more as time went on. After the lecture that normally they would not allow visitors for safety reasons, he was directed to where he would find Anne. He wondered again, could this really be worth all the trouble?
The lights were all dimmed as they were starting to settle things down, as it was the day before Thanksgiving, the quiet was surprising, but nice. He rounded the corner he had been told would lead him to the room Anne was working in, and stopped in his tracks.
He was dumbstruck, breathless, and thought he surely had to be dreaming. Before him stood an angel, albeit one covered in what appeared to be chocolate pudding and whip cream. The girl standing there, so gracefully juggling 4 happy children, glowed with a beauty all her own, and he was struck in the heart. For some reason, the thought popped into his mind, that if any woman would ever be the mother of his children, she was the one. He had no clue where that thought had come from, he had never even considered marriage to be a part of his future. He considered turning around, walking away, but at the moment she looked up and smiled.
"Can I help you?" she asked with a lyrical, sweet voice that made his heart skip a beat. He tried to shrug off these strange feelings that were sweeping over him, but that was proving harder than walking was at the moment. Somehow he managed to take the last few steps needed to get to the low wall that enclosed the classroom area, and rather shyly for him, say, "Hi, I'm looking for Anne."
"That's me," she said while a young boy tried eagerly to crawl up her leg. "You are?"
"Lee, my mom is Vicki." he said like that would be enough to relate everything his mind was thinking. Oh the things his mind was thinking, who knew chocolate pudding and whip cream could be so sexy.
"Sorry, she's not here today, she has off," Anne said while she shifted one wiggly child from her hip to her shoulder and deftly lifted her leg which had a wee girl attached to her calf, and shifted towards the changing area. He was amazed at how well behaved the children were and how well she handled them.
His mouth was having troubles forming the words he wanted to say, and this was a completely foreign thing to him, he usually had no problems speaking his mind. She just did something to him. He gave himself a mental shake and then spoke, a bit softly, "I know, I am Lee, her son."
He waited, but decided to push forward before he lost his courage, "Are you Anne? She mentioned you and I had time to stop by today so I did."
Great, just her luck, a handsome guy shows up to meet her, and her first impression is anything but stellar. She's dressed in her oldest, grungiest clothes. She is covered in chocolate pudding from head to toe, and whip cream too, and there are 4 kids demanding her full attention. Life was once again giving her lemons to make tart lemonade with, was sugar so hard to come by, she thought.
The children suddenly seemed to be wild, and she had to beg his forgiveness for a few minutes while she cleaned the four mini-whirlwinds up, and tucked each on their cot for their nap.
Lee watched her as she skillfully handled each child's needs, how she tenderly attended to each little one with what could only be honest joy to be there, with them, at that moment. He had never seen a little one look so lovingly at someone that wasn't their own parent before, and it amazed him. She tucked each of them on their little blue cots, and once all were asleep, she got someone to cover her, so she could change clothes and take her break. He could have cared less if she changed clothes though, he'd quite enjoyed the singularly, unique scent of pudding and whip cream.
Anne, rushed through changing clothes and washing up, She brushed her, wished she had some make-up with her, but realized he already saw her looking a fright, he should hopefully be able to handle her without make-up. There was the part of her that feared she would get to the staff break room and find that he had run away, that it was all a dream, that would never come true.
She through her bag in the teacher's locker-room and headed into the break room, fully expecting it to be empty, it wasn't. There he sat, comfortably on the chair by the window, looking nonchalant and at ease. She felt anything but at ease, her heart felt like it was skipping beats and her brain felt all mushy inside, she was even lacking courage, so she could play all three roles in the cast for "The Wizard of Oz", they'd only need to find a Dorothy.
Lee looked up, and was just as awed by her natural beauty, she fairly glowed, bringing a brightness not only to the room, but also to his rather dark heart. He had nothing in his life that felt very bright, until now, and he sure as hell hoped he did nothing that screwed things up. She sat down in a chair across from him, and an awkward silence ensued for a few minutes. Only a few though, and then he heard her voice again and he couldn't help but feel a chill creep up his back, a good chill, more like a thrill. Her voice was something he could listen to for hours. Alas, he didn't have hours today, and neither did she, just mere minutes were allowed them, and if one of them didn't act fast everything would fade away and then what would come to pass, he didn't know.
The conversation sped faster than she did when she drove by herself and she never would remember how it came to pass that they had scheduled a date for December first. She walked him to the door of the daycare center, said a quick goodbye, and turned to see her mother staring at her from behind the front desk. The interrogation was bound to begin, but her mother just smiled and shrugged before returning to her paperwork. How very odd, but Anne was not about to let the opportunity pass to get out of there. Her work day soon finished and then the waiting game began.
Anne dressed and redressed a number of times before she found the perfect outfit, or at least as close to perfect as she could. She applied the little bit of makeup that she preferred to wear, her perfume, and then she went downstairs to wait for the doorbell to ring. The first of December, and she wondered again would he really appear, would the man she had met leave her hurt like the rest in her past, or would she find something there. Her father seemed anxious, her mother wore an odd smirk, and her younger sister could care less what her sister was doing. She watched the minute hand tick on the wall clock, and waited. The hour had just started when the doorbell rang, and her heart leaped into her throat as she jumped from the couch to get the door. Oddly her father beat her there, and held her back. Her father cared enough to meet the guy at the door, something seemed weird about that to her, but she was just glad to see Lee standing there on the stoop.
Once her father had deemed it safe for her to leave, she greeted Lee and approved greatly of his quite handsome dress. He whisked her off, and said she hoped she was hungry as they had reservations. Her mind was awhirl with thoughts as to where they could possibly be going in town that would require reservations, and came up blank. So, she sat back in the seat and waited to be surprised, even though she was not a fan of surprises, as so many ended up a nightmare.
Lee, was far from intimidated by the dad at the door, not that he had run into that ever before, just something about the guy, said it was all just for show. He was struck by Anne's beauty as she appeared from the gloom of the room, and saw nothing but her after that. He hoped harder than he had ever hoped before, that she would like the plans that he'd made.
He had put more thought into this night than he had done for anything before, and he still wondered why, why was this night so important. He'd talked to his mom and knew Anne was not looking for a relationship, and he had felt the same way, until that fateful day before Thanksgiving. From the minute he'd left the Pitter-patter Daycare Center, he could not stop thinking about Anne. He saw her eyes everywhere, heard her voice in his sleep, smelled the sweet scent of pudding wafting passed in the most obscure places. There was something about her that made his heart sing.
The restaurant was a bit crowded, and they had to wait at the bar before being seated. They chatted over a drink, soda for each, they soon found their first thing in common, the fact that they didn't desire an alcoholic drink. Neither was one to imbibe frequently it seemed, and that was fine for them. No clouded reactions, no bizarre behavior to regret the next morning. They got to their table and they waited to order.
Anne was in awe as they sat in the supper club she would never dream of going to as the prices were higher than anything she had ever been treated to. The prices kept jumping at her, screaming expensive, and she was wondering what she could order without going overboard, and then he simply said something she had never heard before, "Order whatever you like, you love it here, and it is my treat."
Lee, hoped she would listen and order something she'd like. He was tired of those who he would try to treat, who wasted his money on bird food meals, in attempt to prove they kept their girlish figure by not eating much. Anne, was beautiful just as she was, no need to be dieting or putting on airs, which so far she hadn't. In fact, she seem shy tonight, and that just made him like her, and want to protect her. Where that feeling came from he could not guess, his heart and his mind were a tangled mess. He breathed a sigh of relief when she ordered a fish dinner, and he ordered a steak. He thought the dinner would be awkward, but they soon started talking and both were amazed as thing after thing, was another they had in common.
They talked about their dreams, they talked about life, they talked about the past in bots and pieces, and they soon realized that they had so much in common that it was like life had only been allowing them to walk on a parallel path until that night. Now, their paths had intersected and it was only a matter of seeing where the new path would lead. Before they knew it the meal was finished and they had places to be, Lee had planned the evening to the detail, and a movie was next on the agenda. As they waited for the waitress to return with the bill, Lee said the silliest of things, "You know I would marry you, would you marry me?" The look of shock on Anne's face, was a little off-putting, until she smiled, and asked, "Did you just propose?" He nodded yes, as he didn't trust his voice, and waited for her reply. "I cannot see why not," she said with a chuckle, and ended with the simple word, "Yes."
The rest of the night flew by, a movie, a drive, a kiss and a snuggle. Somehow they had went from two lonely people to a couple.
Anne arrived home, and found both parents awake, an odd occurrence to be sure. Had something bad happened, has somebody died, why were they waiting for her, sitting side by side? They tried to rain on her happiness parade, they tried hard to push her away from Lee, and from his family. The things that they said hurt and seemed petty. She went up to bed, he heart feeling heavy. Were the things that they said, just out of spite, was the proposal for real, or just words said without thought? Sunday went by, and she told her mother finally that he had proposed, she smiled, but then said simply, "Who knows, could be for real, could be a joke."
The next week was quite busy, and her Lee worked opposite shifts, phone calls were not easy, as they never were home at the same times. She soon began to think that it had all been a dream, a good one nonetheless, but nothing more than that.
A blizzard swept in, and the daycare was frantically dealing with parents arriving and others calling, as they rushed to get everyone home safe before the snow started falling. Weather in Wisconsin could be sunny and bright, and seconds later all you would see was the winter white. Mom was the assistant director and left with the job of being the last staffer on site, so Anne was stuck there waiting it out. There suddenly, out of winter snow, came a vision of a red beard covered in snow. There was Lee, trampling through the blizzard, and she smiled so wide, that he saw it, and it was his beacon to follow. Work had been cancelled and he'd spoke to his mom, knew right where to find, Anne and made it his plan to spend that night with her. The car hadn't started, so he got on a bus, the bus soon got stuck in the frozen mush. So, he got out and he started to hike across the city to meet the new girl in his life. The news reporter stopped him, said what brought out in this winter fright, and he said, "I'm going to go the girl, I hope will be my wife."
He came through the door, nodded at her mom, and she rushed to his arms, and hugged him so tight, that he felt warmth spread to his soul, and he knew then and there that, she was the woman he wanted for the rest of his life.
Epilogue...
The engagement ring was placed upon her finger before December had ended, many opposed, and some were offended. People said that it could never last, that love didn't happen that fast. April arrived, and they walked down the aisle, her father was proud and her mother did smile. They married that day, and they walked many paths, alone and together, but none would be better than the path that brought them together. One mother says it was all her doing, the other says she knew it is was coming. Yet, nobody thought that there love could be forever, and yet.... it is now twenty-two years later, three children (two now fully grown), mountains that were climbed, rivers forged, and struggles fought and won... and they are still happily together.