It had been four years since she had died, and Chris was finally feeling he could let go of his wife. They had met seven years earlier, and her slow decline had been difficult for both of them. The first year was the hardest, then Chris managed to burrow into his work teaching biology at the local college, taking on new research, and slowly putting together a new life for himself. The students responded well, and his colleagues were supportive. But he lacked any real companion, and was hesitant about how to make that happen in a way that felt safe and relaxing. That is until Livina came into his life.
They had met at a social event organized by the department chair. She had been a lab technician in the department several years earlier, and left to get her PhD. She now worked at a start-up in a nearby city, but spent weekends in town visiting her aging parents, and connecting with friends from her time at the college. She happened to be in town for the gathering at the chair's ostentatious house outside of town, and they hit it off while disagreeing about their tastes for eggnog. He was a believer and didn't mind the raw egg flavor and rum; she grimaced, and explained, while sipping on a glass of red wine, how only the uncivilized would eat raw eggs mixed with alcohol. The disagreement must have had some flirtation in it, because she accepted dinner the next night when he choked out an invitation. Dinner went well, and they exchanged emails and dates for several weeks.
It became apparent to both of them that they were now more than dating. She would drive south from the city to see him, or he would commute up to the city after his last class Friday morning. They talked on the phone during the week, they exchanged little gifts. He had met her parents at their cozy cottage and talked house plants and collies (they had two) with her father for hours while she and her mother ran errands or cooked dinner for all of them. He was surprised how comfortable he felt, and he rarely reflected on the hard times from a few years before. He was settling into a happy rhythm with Livina, and she seemed comfortable with him as well.
Sex had been something new for him -- he hadn't been with a woman in several years. Livina was very attractive to him, with dark eyes, mid-length dark hair tied tight back into a pony tail. She was shorter than he, and lithe, with a quickness about her that surprised him. She used to train seriously on her mountain bike, but she had redirected her intensity recently on yoga and running, which she alternated most days of the week. She had been receptive in bed, letting him take the lead and set the patterns. But they were new enough at this together that they seemed to learn something new each time they were together.
Chris got the phone call at about 3 pm on Friday, as she was driving up. She asked him if he was up for a little adventure. He wasn't sure what she meant exactly, but guessed something about a bike ride before the spring sun set or else a weekend away together.
"Sure, I love the idea of an adventure. What should I pack?" he asked.
She told him to sit tight, and just follow his instructions -- it would be another 40 minutes before she got there. So he agreed, they hung up, and he lifted his shoulders in a shrug, not knowing what to make of it. He took a quick shower, ate some leftover pasta he had cooked the night before, and was dozing in the easy chair when the phone rang again. It was Livina.
"Hi Chris. Don't say anything, just listen. I have put a small bag on your porch and am parked a block away. Take the bag, read the instructions inside." The phone went dead.
Very strange thought Chris. What the hell, he asked himself. He slowly got up from the chair, turned on the light, walked across the room to the hall, down the hall to the front door. Opening the door, he wasn't sure what to expect. On the front step was a small Disney Mickey Mouse bag, with a small tab of tape holding the top shut. He remembered that she had been to Disney with her parents and her brother's family the year before. Very strange he told himself again. He looked up the street, then down. Nothing. No sign of Livina's Honda. Nobody out on the street.
He grabbed the bag, closed the door behind him, and padded into the kitchen. One side of the bag was noticeably heavy, so it felt lop-sided in his hand. He pondered what was inside as he set he bag on the counter and stared at it. What was Livina up to he wondered?
He opened the bag with a sharp knife. Inside was an envelope that said "INSTRUCTIONS" on it. Next to that was a bottle of wine, uncorked. And next to that a smaller black plastic bag.
He laid these items on the counter, turned on brighter lighting, and red the wine label. It was something he had tried once when his parents returned from Italy, and he remembered that it was very tasty. And expensive. Livina tended to be humble about her gifts, so this was a bit unusual.
Leaving the black plastic bag aside, he opened the envelope. He assumed that she was going to the store for dinner or something, but why all the secrecy? Why the instructions? Why the fine wine? Why not stop in and say hello to him before going out to get them food? He didn't understand. He pulled a folded up printed letter from the envelope, unfolded it and read:
"I am asking you to follow my exact instructions. You have to trust me. If you prefer not to trust me with this, I completely understand. Just put the bag on the porch, I will see it, and we can pretend none of this happened. If the bag is not back on the porch in 10 minutes, I will presume you have decided not to accept my instructions. Here they are:
1. Open the wine to let it breath; place it beside your bed with two glasses.
2. Get the candles in the black bag, and light them, placing one on each side of your bed.