"Hu-hello?" asked Monica.
"Hey Mon, it's....me," I said.
"Oh. Oh hey!! Heeeyyy..." Her voice sounded weak and she trailed off. Sobbing she said, "How...how are you?"
"I'm ok. Long time. I...I heard what happened. I am, so, so, sorry, Monica," I replied.
She exhaled, started to cry, and said, "Th-thanks...um..where are you nowadays.."
"About two hours south of you. How are the kids? Have you told them?" I asked.
Letting out a wounded laugh, "Yea..um...they were here when Mike had his heart attack. They saw the ambulance and everything...oh my god!!" Her words gave way to tears. Her composure kicked in and slowly started again. "They're at my mom's house for now. I can't...can't bear to have them see me like this. I'm going over in the morning to pick them up. I put them to bed...they look like little angels, ya'know," she said and trailed off again.
"You're alone?" I asked incredulously.
"Hmm-hmm," she replied. She was having trouble speaking.
"I'll be right there," I replied.
"Wha....wait wait. You're coming here. It's two hours though. No no no...the house is a mess and...." she said.
"Mon, you shouldn't be alone right now. Do you have anyone else who can come over to stay with you?" I asked.
"My sister'll be here in the morning from Phoenix to help with the kids. Mom wanted to come over but...we were never been close after her divorce," she replied.
"Ok. I'm on my way. Just relax. Do you need anything?" I asked.
"No. I'm ok. Maybe..maybe some tissues," she replied. Another desperate laugh escaped her mouth.
"Ok. Ok. I'll be there as soon as I can," I said and hung up the phone.
My mind raced. How would I get there, did I remember? Yep. I grabbed my bag and threw in some clothes. I jumped in my car and headed off. The trip would take about two hours, but more like one with the way I felt like driving. Mike and Monica had moved to a more secluded part of the state after they married. It was easier for me to think of her far, far away though she never was. Locked in a castle, out of reach.
I would just miss rush hour and get into the mountains as it was getting dark. I had to stop for gas, "Dammit" and as I continued it began to rain. Each drop was like memory. So many kisses, too many to count and who does. I did. But I would never tell her.
We went hiking once in the back woods behind her father's house.I'd been on break from college. The sun had set and all the trees turned blue as the woods grew dark. We crossed over a stream that she playfully said was our boundary into Dreamland. Leaving all that "stupid adult shit" behind. I'd never seen someone hike in a skirt before. She gotten off work just before I got there and didn't feel like changing. And off we went. Following deer trails that ran along the stream. I watched her hips swing back and forth as we walked, resisting the urge to lick her pale legs from end to end. It was getting dark when we came to a small group of rocks.
"Here we are," she cooed.
"Where we are?" I asked. Not realizing the order of my words right away, "I mean..."
She giggled. Her black hair blending into the night away from her pale face. Taking off her jacket she laid it on the ground and took a lighter from her pocket. There was a stone circle I hadn't seen before. She flicked the lighter to life and began to light the crumpled newspaper underneath some firewood.
"Oh I see," I said sarcastically. "This wasn't planned at all."
She laughed in that beautiful way she does. Her features glowing slowly as the light grew stronger. "C'mere," she said. Patting the ground next to her. I sat down just as she took off her shirt. Her C size breast stared at me, moving slightly. She flipped one leg over my head and spread them. Hiking her skirt up I saw her vagina in the firelight. She wasn't wearing panties. "I just want you to watch. Ok?" she asked without expecting an answer
"Su-sure," I replied.