After Cicely

by Dolores M.
(a.k.a. Emma)

Chris walked around the small but adequate Vancouver apartment checking to make sure that everything was arranged for this evening.

The furnishings were sparse but tasteful - a black leather couch, two bleached pine end tables with wrought-iron wire based table lamps, a matching coffee table with some magazines neatly piled on one end. There was a black leather recliner in one corner of the room and a large-screen TV in viewing distance. Against one of the walls was a cabinet with a stereo system and the shelves were filled with CD’s, old record albums in worn sleeves, and cassettes that he had collected over the years. There were books, also - poetry, philosophy, classics, mysteries, and even some children’s books. There was a small dining table and two chairs, also bleached pine, at one end of the large room. Most of the furnishings were new and had been acquired after his move from Cicely.

His relationship with Maggie had ended. Their differences in personality and attitudes caused the breakup. They parted as good friends and still kept in touch over the five years since they last saw each other. Chris also kept in touch with Ed, Joel, Holling, Ruth Ann, and even Maurice. Ed had sold three scripts to an independent film company and had gained some attention in the film industry. He often stopped to see Chris on his way from meetings in Los Angeles back to Cicely where he still lived. Joel had a successful practice in New York but managed to get to Vancouver at least once a year and meet up with his old friend. Holling and Shelly still owned The Brick and recently had an addition to their family – a baby boy. Ruth Ann, just as feisty as ever at 80 years old, was still running the General Store. Maurice and Barbara were happily married and were the proud parents of a three year-old son.

As Chris continued his inspection of the apartment he thought about the events that caused his move from Alaska. The owner of a PBS radio station in Vancouver was driving through Cicely on his way North. There was some car trouble and he had to stay over a few days. He had listened to KBHR, the local radio station, on the car radio and then later to the radio in his room at Ron & Eric’s B&B. He found Chris’ eclectic music choices and commentary very interesting and wanted to meet him. He decided to go into town and have dinner at The Brick. He sat down at the bar and asked the bartender (who happened to be Holling) if he knew where he could get in touch with Chris Stevens. Holling laughed and said, "You’re sitting next to him". Over dinner, an offer was made and Chris accepted the job.
Chris went to the small galley kitchen and checked on the dinner he had ordered from the restaurant around the corner. They had instructed him to keep everything covered and in the oven on low heat until he was ready to serve. He could cook for himself but his specialties were hot dogs, hamburgers, and a mean pot of chili. He also could make a good pot of coffee. But tonight was special. He wanted everything to be perfect. She had accepted his invitation to dinner. The table was set with the only matching dishes he owned and there was a bottle of wine cooling in the refrigerator.

White candles of different shapes and sizes were placed around the large room and on the dining table. Containers of white tulips were on the coffee table, the dining table, and the bookcase. She had mentioned that white tulips were her favorite flowers. It was almost time for her to arrive. Chris lit the candles, knowing that she would be on time. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved black cotton shirt opened at the neck and the cuffs rolled up. (She told him once that she liked him in black.) His hair was neither short nor long, just long enough to come down over the collar of his shirt.

He wanted so much to please her. He had never felt like this before. Not even with Maggie. She was so different from all the girls he had known. Maybe it was because he was older now. He didn’t want "a girl". He wanted a woman. He was 43 and it was time to think about the rest of his life. He wanted to share it with someone young in heart and spirit, but mature in other ways. She was 36 and was the web designer and office manager for the radio station where he worked. They met when she needed to get some information for the personnel "bios" on the station’s web site. Her schedule was hectic that day so he agreed to meet her for lunch in the coffee shop next to the station.

He’d been so busy settling in the new job he hadn’t really noticed her before. Now, as he sat across the table from her in the crowded coffee shop, he couldn’t stop staring. She looked so familiar. He was attracted to her at once. Everything about her pleased him. She was so easy to talk to. He started to speak and nothing came out! He laughed and took a drink of water. He answered all the questions she needed for the web page and the conversation didn’t stop there. They talked about music, movies, sports, their hometowns, their families and everything under the sun. Lunch would have gone on for hours but they had to get back to work. He asked if she would like to take in a movie sometime and she smiled and said "yes".

A few days later he stopped in her office and asked her out. She accepted and that was the first of many dates. He had been seeing her for three months now and tonight she was having dinner at his apartment.

The intercom buzzed. He went to it and answered. She said, "Hi, it’s me." He signaled her in. He turned the stereo on and a CD of John Coltrane played softly. His heart was pounding as he opened the door and waited for her to appear. And there she was.

She was dressed in white – a billowy sheer blouse with a lace camisole underneath it, and softly draped white trousers. She laughed and said "Hello – we look like Yin and Yang, salt and pepper, positive and negative". He grinned back at her. "Hello, I’m so glad you’re here. Would you like a glass of wine?" She accepted and while he went to the kitchen to pour it, she walked around the large room taking in the items that hung on the walls.

There were movie posters from "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "Godzilla", some stills from the Elvis movies, Wizard of Oz, The Red Shoes (and some she didn’t recognize), a big collection of postcards in a poster frame, and some old record album covers. She thought "This is so like him, so much variety, so full of surprises". She loved him very much – he was a diamond in the rough but also very intelligent, very loving, very compassionate. And he had such a sense of humor - he always made her laugh.

Chris came back with the wine and as they touched glasses Chris said "Here’s lookin’ at you, kid" in his best Bogart imitation. She laughed and his heart skipped a beat. "Dance with me?" he asked. She nodded and smiled. They put their glasses down and she walked into his arms. He held her close and they danced to the soft music that drifted in the room. She looked into his eyes and he bent and kissed her forehead gently. He decided this would be the night he would ask her.

He seated her at the table and went to the kitchen to get dinner. She asked, "Can I help?" He said "Absolutely not, you’ve served me dinner many nights, this time it’s my turn to serve you". She laughed and said "A man after my own heart". He thought to himself "That’s right!" He placed the dinner on the table, served her, and poured some wine.

They ate and talked and laughed. When they were finished they took the dishes to the kitchen and she insisted they wash and dry them. Chris didn’t argue. He liked the intimacy of two people in a tiny kitchen working side by side. When they were done, he poured two cups of coffee and carried them into the living room and put them on the table in front of the couch.

He told her he had something he wanted to talk to her about. He told her how much he enjoyed being with her and that she had brought so much to his new life in Vancouver. He said she seemed so very familiar to him but he couldn’t put his finger on why. She laughed. She said "We met a long time ago but you probably don’t remember. We only saw each other for a moment. I was driving through Cicely and I lost my sense of direction. I saw you sitting in the window of KBHR and I stopped in to ask you how to get to the highway. At first you didn’t hear me – you had a headset on. I tapped you on the shoulder and you turned around and stared at me. I must have startled you because you tried to say something and nothing would come out. Your voice was hoarse and you just managed to squeak out how to get to the highway. I never forgot you and I never dreamed we would meet again."

Chris could not believe his ears. This was the beautiful woman who had "stolen his voice". It all came back now. He always wondered if he would ever see her again and now she was here, sitting next to him, and his heart was pounding and he was sure he wasn’t going to be able to talk.

"Right . . . right . . . now I remember," he said. She smiled and reached for his hand. He took her hand in both of his. He cleared his throat. "There’s something I want to ask you . . . please don’t feel that you have to answer right away . . . you should give it some thought . . . but I just have to ask you tonight before I lose my nerve . . . will you marry me? . . . I mean I know we’ve only been seeing each other for three months but I feel like I’ve known you all my life and I really think we are good together . . . I love you and I don’t know if you feel the same . . .

She put her hand up to his mouth and smiled. "Yes", she said, "Now stop talking and kiss me".

Note: This story was written for entertainment only. It is the property of the author and may not be copied or reproduced without permission. The characters, pictures, and references are borrowed without permission from Pipeline Productions and Centropolis and are not for profit in any way.