Never Say Never

She grabs a tissue and blows her nose. "Ohmygod, if only I could relive just one of those precious moments with you. What's that song? That Sunday, That Summer? That song always makes me cry when I hear it. 'If I had to choose one moment to live within my heart, it would be that tender moment...'"

"Nat King Cole."

"Yes."

With a look of pained resignation, Richard gazes into her eyes. "If only we had the power to go back and relive that moment, one among many I shared with you."

"If only, Richard, if only." She sighs, then takes her plastic spoon and scoops up the last few bites, swallowing them whole. "Well, I guess it's time to part. Bradley's probably suspicious already."

"Yeah, and Robyn would make some snide remark about me staying at the library to read War and Peace."

After dumping their trash, they head for the parking lot and stand by their cars. "You know, Richard," Juliet says, "I was only half-joking about Tahiti. I really would like to go there with you. It's given me an idea for a novel. Aging ex-lovers, both married, meet for ice cream, rekindle their romance and run off to Tahiti. What do you think?"

"Do they live happily ever after?"

"I certainly hope so. I mean, look what all they'd be forced to endure for that to happen. Big bucks for lawyer's fees. Smug comments from friends. Angry feedback from relatives, kids especially."

"Which means it won't happen, except in the pages of your book. What should the title be?"

She rubs her hand over her chin. "Hmm...Affair in Tahiti? It Began at the Creamery? Not sure."

"How about Starting Over?"

She nods. "Appropriate but too generic. We'd—I mean my characters—would definitely be starting over. They'd need to live a long time to make it all worth it."

"Let me know when it's published."

"Of course." Momentarily, she stands there in silence, her body tense, almost coiled, locked in a moral debate. She knows what she wants to do, she's just not sure if she should do it. Finally: "Look, this might be cheating but I don't care."

Her determined expression and outstretched arms tell him that he knows what she means even before she does it, before she steps closer, embraces him and puts her lips to his. What follows isn't casual kissing between old friends. More like passionate kissing between lovers—or would-be lovers.

Always the writer, she sees plot lines swirling in her head, even as he grinds his pelvis against hers and even as she feels the bulge of something he had slipped inside her under that boardwalk all those years ago. She pulls back and grins. "Looks like age hasn't dampened your, um, ability any."

"That's because age hasn't dampened the memory of you and the thrilling times we once shared. God, Julie, I sometimes wish to relive those times so badly it hurts." His eyes narrow and his jaw tenses in a wince. He does indeed look like a man in emotional pain, yearning for a past that can never be relived. "I just hope in this novel to be that you'll create characters who do things that we'll never do, can't do because we're so damn practical."

She nods. "You bet. But never say never, my friend. The line between fact and fiction can be very thin. It can blur and then vanish altogether. She flashes him a flirtatious grin. "I'll leave you with that." She glances down at his crotch and giggles. "And that, too."

He stands by her car, leaning on top of the open door while she's behind the wheel. "Okay, I'll never say never. I will say that I hope we don't have to wait another half-century to meet again for ice cream."

"We'll meet again. And soon, I hope. Message me." She's about to turn the ignition, then stops. "That's it, I've got it!"

"What?'

"The title of my novel. Never Say Never. Well?"

He nods. "I think that'll work. Good luck with the writing."

"Thanks, I'll need it. But I might need help in writing it, fiction drawn from experience. At least for the first few chapters." She winks. "Know what I'm saying?"

He chuckles. "Sounds like a thriller-romance. Is there a genre for that?"

"I think so. If not, we'll invent one."

"I'm getting ideas already."

"Yeah, me too. And if I don't leave now, I might put some of them to work." She turns the ignition, then roars away.