Two Broken Roads Ch. 02

"Ben, over the course of one day you've shown me the kind of man you are. At twenty-seven, or almost twenty-eight," she laughed, "a lot of guys are still in college mode or looking to hook up or play the field."

She paused briefly before continuing. "Listen, I've seen the depth of who you are. I know how strongly you feel things. You've proven you have stability and a firm handle on life. It feels strange to be comfortable enough to say what I want to say after one day, and I don't want to scare you away. But, Ben, what I've seen today makes me want to explore being a part of your life. You are intriguing. You're freshly different! Am I totally nuts or misreading today?"

"Maybe we're both nuts... I don't know. But this I do know... I wish I knew how to do an Irish jig!"

"What?" She pulled back to look at me.

"You know, an Irish jig. Sorta like the happy dance Snoopy does!"

She gave me a strange smile. "And... why?"

"Because I can't think of enough words to express my current state of happiness. I think an Irish jig could help!"

"So, you're saying I'm not misreading the day?"

"Laura, you read perfectly! Scary, huh?"

"A little... but not as much as you'd think. I'm not scared!"

"Funny. Neither am I!" We snuggled.

"Are we still killing elephants?" she said with a wide smile.

"You've given me the perfect segue, but from all we just talked about, I really need to give you a hug and do an internal Irish jig for joy!" I pulled her into me and, if possible, I felt our closeness increase even more. Then simultaneously we started to move like we were pretending to jig and laughed at our mutual response.

Staying in the hug, she opened the floor for the next topic. "Now tell me what I inadvertently segued into talking about."

"You mentioned a firm handle on life. My firm handle, or more my foundation, is my faith. So I'm not bringing up a problem. I'm letting you know that your faith shines through the way you are, who you are, and the things you do. When Hanna said the blessing tonight, the faith in this home and in your family blew me away. So I already know we are in sync with the most important issues we could face."

Still hugging, but even tighter now, I felt her start to sob into my chest. She pulled back from the hug smiling but with tears freely falling. "You have no idea how happy I am you said that!" she said with absolute joy and emotion. "That's right where I am!" She moved faster than I thought a human could move, and our lips met like two magnets finally yielding to the force they've been fighting for hours.

I felt a surge in me like I never had before. Not like a shock of electricity, but more like a current of pure energy. It wasn't a long kiss, maybe five seconds. It wasn't a lustful kiss of passion. Our tongues never met. It was a milestone kiss. It was full of emotion stronger than can be imagined. It was full of an unspoken promise to see where this road would take us. In less than a day, we were now on a path we both desperately wanted to walk together. This road promised to give us a chance for joy and happiness. We both thought those things were beyond our reach before that day. That one, incredible day.

"Wow!" I said with heavy breath.

"Did you feel it too?" she asked with a bright glow about her.

"Oh yeah!"

She snuggled back into an embrace.

After "The Kiss," the conversation was very warm and more intimate. There were comfortable moments of silence as we contemplated the evening. We talked about glimpses we had of each other over the past year.

"I remember watching you shovel my driveway during that blizzard in February. Hanna and I watched you from the window and she was telling me she talked to you a couple of times and that you were nice. I wanted to come out and say something, but you were being so selfless. Something told me anything I'd do or say would embarrass you."

"I didn't think you'd notice and, you're right, I wouldn't have known how to act. I wasn't sure if there was a man of the house, but I knew there wasn't one home and you may need the help. That was two feet of heavy snow."

"Did you like the cookies I sent over with Hanna to thank you?"

"Oh yeah! I'm a sucker for chocolate chip! And those powdered sugar-coated balls—what are they called?"

"My mom called them Russian Tea Balls!"

"Yeah... those. Absolutely awesome! Thanks for thinking of me and sending them over. I'm curious, though... why did you send Hanna instead of coming over?"

Laura looked a little embarrassed. "I was being shy, I guess. I thought you were really cute and figured I'd make a fool of myself!"

I had to moan and chuckle. "I wish I had known that and that you were... well... single! I would have come after you like a runaway train!"

She grinned an impish grin. "You mean like you did today?"

"Whattaya mean?" I laughed feigning innocence. "I thought I exhibited a lot of restraint today!"

"Oh really?" She joined my laughter with her own. "What are you like unrestrained?"

"I hope to show you someday!"

"Ohhh." She cooed in the cutest way I've ever seen. There was a brief moment of silence.

"Hanna was mad I made her take the cookies over."

"Really?"

"I told her I thought you were cute, and she was pushing me to come to talk to you. I think she was trying to set us up!"

"Oh my!"

We continued to talk comfortably over a wide range of subjects. We talked about having to get up for church in the morning which brought us to that topic. We discussed churches and basic doctrines and found we thought alike. The church she has been attending is a little far from home, so she agreed she and the girls would join me at my church in the morning. It would also give me a chance to introduce her to Sarah and Bobby. I desperately wanted them all to hit it off as friends too. I texted Bobby and Sarah to give them some advance notice and invited them to lunch after church with Laura and the girls—my treat. Laura and I nailed down the details of the morning's schedule.

It was a little past midnight. We were clutching each other hoping the night would never end, yet we both knew better.

"I hate to say it," I moaned. "But I should get home and get some sleep."

"I hate your saying that too!" she moaned in return. "After lunch with your friends, can we come back here and spend day number two of getting to know each other?"

"Am I allowed to join for the movie binge-watch, or would you rather be alone with the girls?" I asked.

"What do you prefer? Just me, or me and the girls?"

"Laura, I would love to sit with you in a warm embrace and let the world go by. But, if you haven't guessed, I adore your daughters. We haven't talked about this, but I hope you know, they will never be an elephant in the room. You haven't asked but I hope you already know that they are not a roadblock for me in the least. They're exactly whatever the opposite of a roadblock is. If the road takes us where I think it will, I will cherish and treasure them. I already do!"

I said that in the spirit of openness, but my reward was another fantastic kiss.

"You just keep getting better and better!" she said with a glow. "Where have you been all my life?" She kissed me again. The electricity kept flowing.

I thought about her rhetorical question for a moment. And even though it wasn't expected, I had to respond.

"I think before today, I didn't fully exist. It's hard for me to explain, but the power we both seem to feel when we kiss or hug has been happening to me all day. From the moment I saw you walking towards me today... well, now yesterday I guess, I've felt an energy from you and around you. I never saw or felt anything like it before. Until I felt that, it was as if I was going through the motions of life just, somehow, I think, waiting for you. Do you think that's weird or strange? Or maybe corny?"

"How can I?" she asked. "I saw you sitting on your lawn talking to the girls with such a glow that I was irresistibly pulled to come to you. I know exactly what you mean. I've felt it all day!"

We held on even tighter. No words, just basking in shared warmth for another fifteen minutes or so. Finally, I groaned and told her I should get going if I'm going to get up for church.

Laura walked me to the back door and I turned to say goodnight. I had one more thing to add to what we shared.

"Laura, this was perhaps the best day of my life and I'm expecting even greater days ahead. I'm going to promise right now that I will be open and honest with you about everything and anything. If this wasn't our first day together, I'd be telling you something a little different. But what I will say is... how can I put this... I EXTREMELY like you!"

She laughed again. How I loved that laugh.

"Believe it or not, I EXTREMELY like you too!"

This kiss was even more powerful. We both let our tongues slip out as if to ask permission to enter, and both granted entrance. Our tongues intertwined in a slow dance of passion, of promise, and of hope. I felt like we were past "extreme like," but neither of us was comfortable putting the word out there. I felt love growing. I hope she felt it too. For several minutes we held our incredible embrace and the deep, gentle kiss. We slowly broke our lips apart and took deep breaths.

"I can't improve on that with any words!" I moaned.

"Ah...ah...oh my!" she stuttered. "I think you just told me something more than good night!"

I kissed her on the forehead and whispered in her ear. "I'll see you in a few hours, but I'm not sure I'll be sleeping until then. Good night, Laura." I turned to slowly go out the door, holding her hand until the distance grew too great.

I walked home with the image of her smiling, glowing, with joyful tears glistening and reluctantly waving. And, that kiss! Of all the great things I learned about Laura that day, my list had another important entry. She was passionate with a capital "P."

I floated into my room and fell into a deep, contented sleep.

What a day!