Well - Part XX

I’m a little slow on the uptake sometimes. It took me nearly a dozen years after graduation to actually approach a woman who I had known nearly all my life and even then, a half dozen dates later, we actually kissed. That night, there was no more waiting.

We spent the night together (I never did call my sister) and in the morning, after awakening and another bout of lovemaking, I never wanted to leave her bedroom. The morning eventually wore on and we reluctantly broke our embrace and rose to face the day.

Cheryl prepared a great breakfast, we chatted some more and then she brought me over to the train station. I didn’t want to leave but our lives were calling. She had schoolwork to grade and I had to get back to the city to prepare for the coming week.

As we moved through these tasks, I felt like I was walking on air. The previous weeks were so wonderfully “out of place” in my normally mundane doldrums of an existence. Life felt like it was done handing me lemons and it was time for some good fortune.

We proceeded with daily calls both in the morning and in the evening. She remained on my mind throughout my days and I literally ached for her embrace during the times we were apart.

That week, I cut a deal with my employer to work late a few nights in exchange for a half day off on Friday. I wanted to surprise Cheryl by coming up early on Friday night. Unlike the previous times that I had planned for the trip north, I didn’t call my sister. I had no intentions of seeing anyone but Cheryl.

When I spoke with her on Thursday night I was bursting at the seams to tell Cheryl that I was coming up the following afternoon but I held off. We talked about what was going on in each other’s jobs, we talked about things that were in the news, new movies coming out and books that we ewre reading or planning on reading. Cheryl being a teacher always was on the look out for new material that she could use within her classroom.

That night our nation’s troops drove the last of the Russian regiment back out of Alaska (and across the Bering Strait). The UN General Council was calling for a cessation of fighting between the two countries and it appeared a cease-fire was eminent.

It was also that night that Cheryl’s brother was killed by friendly fire.