Saturday β
Arrives and with it a whirlpool of emotions and feelings. I couldn't get the vision of yesterday afternoon out of my mind. And I trembled wondering what her graduation gift was going to be.
I primed myself, making sure that I was as adult as I could imagine being. I wanted to make a good impression. No longer just a high school teenager, but a person about to complete a rite of passage. Little did I know that I was about to experience a rite of passage only a shadow of anything envisioned in those moments spent relieving the build up of raging hormones.
I bounded out of my house and made way for the subway. The means to arrive at my destination. I wanted time to fast forward, and would have glad been able to teleport myself instantly from here to her apartment. Damn science fiction!
Finally
I stand before her apartment building.
I press the buzzer to her apartment, and anxiously await the buzzing sound. Time seems to stand still, as I imagine this all to be a charade. My legs soft and wobbly. My heart racing. My face flushed. Is this a dream. I am lost in dark thoughts....
The shrill sound snaps me out of my reverie.
And the sound of her voice, tinny and small in the microphone sends waves of relief washing through me.
This is not a dream. I am here. Just moments away from seeing her. Being in her apartment.
I push open the heavy wrought ironed screened glass door and enter the foyer. I breath in the air, trying to get a sense of her place.
I look up the stairs and see her at the top of the first flight. She is smiling. My heart melts.
I take the steps two at a time. I would have tried three, but I feared that I would have tumbled and made a fool of myself. The thought of bodily damage not entering my mind.
She took my hand as soon as I was on the second floor, and the smile she held my gauze with as she led me to her apartment both stilled my heart and caused my pulse to race.
Swish β
The door closed.
And my eyes began to adjust to the dimness of her place. The curtains were all drawn, letting only a dim glow to be cast through them.
A slew of candles were lit, their warm glow bathing the room with light and scent.
And she stood before me.
Wearing the pale green dress.
And a smile.
Was she nervous? I wasn't sure.
I know I was. My mouth feeling so dry and parched all of a sudden.
As if on cue, she asked if I needed something to drink, soft drink, juice, or ....
The or.... was an open invitation. The first of several memorable ones that day.
"Water would be fine" I mumbled.
She said to take a seat, and I did on a sofa.
She went into the kitchen and came back with two glasses of water.
As she set them down on the coffee table in front of me, my breath caught.