Broken Dreams(11)

“Well, aren’t you a peach?” I said with a grin.

“That I am, my love. That I am.” We laughed and sipped the delicious wine.

“Is there anything that I can do to help with dinner?” I asked Margaret, hoping she would say no.

“Oh no, sweetie. You sit just there and enjoy yourself. It’s almost ready. I just need to dish it up.” She smiled and happily headed back into the kitchen. Harold, Henry, and I kicked back and enjoyed our glasses of wine.

Within minutes, dinner was served. She served us salad, beef stew, and buttermilk biscuits. Henry groaned when she placed the bowl of stew in front of him.

I loved that groan. I heard it several times the night before, and maybe a few times before lunch, as well. I smirked at him. He reached under the table and squeezed my thigh.

“Best ever. I swear.” Without pause, he dipped his spoon in and lifted it to his mouth, just as Margaret glared at him with a raised eyebrow. “Yes…sorry,” he said as he set the spoon down and pulled his salad in front of him.

“Still too hot to eat. Salad first, like always, my boy.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he muttered in embarrassment. I laughed. I loved seeing him knocked off his high horse. It was truly funny.

Margaret cleared her throat as Henry ate his salad in silence. “So, tell me, Elaina. How did you two meet?” I told her the story of Henry saving me from the flat tire and phone thieving fairies. They beamed with pride over his chivalrous behavior. I failed to mention that he was practically living with me the very next night.

The conversation carried on throughout the course of the evening, and two more bottles of wine were opened and drained. For dessert, Margaret served us French Silk chocolate pie and coffee in the living room.

I settled in between Henry’s arm and chest. He was so comfortable. All of their voices became more distant as I melted further into him. I tried to keep up, but I kept fading out. I didn’t realize I nodded off until he began rubbing his cool fingers on my cheek. “Love… wake up,” Henry said softly in my ear.

“Oh, god. I’m so sorry!” I sat up with a snort and wiped the drool off my face. Henry laughed, and I glared at him.

“Oh, sweetie, it’s fine.” His mother winked at me. “I fed you a rich meal and you had a couple glasses of wine.”

“She told me she didn’t sleep well last night. Something about a nightmare.” Nightmare, my ass. I glared at him.

“Oh, really? Henry gets horrible nightmares, too. Like night terrors. I hope it isn’t like those. They used to scare the hell out of us.” I knew all too well about those night terrors. I’ve had to talk him down from a few in our short couple months of being together.

I casually swatted my hand through the air. “Oh, it was just a regular old nightmare. I just couldn’t go back to sleep after it.” In reality, neither one of us slept much. We made love three times during the night, and again in the morning. I wasn’t sure what had gotten into him, but he was one horny toad.

“Glad to hear it. You should get this wonderful young lady back to her home, Henry, so she can get some rest.” I’m sure rest wasn’t in Henry’s mind. He was going to try to jump me again. I knew it from the devious look in his eyes.

“Yes, I do believe I should.” He smiled at me.

We said our goodbyes and headed out to his truck. He leaned back in his seat and laid his head back on the headrest, letting out a loud sigh of relief. I laughed at him. He didn’t think I was funny, by any means.



-October 2014-



“So, what you are telling me is that everything is a lie?” I started to feel sad and helpless as I stared at Henry, waiting for some sort of truthful response.

“No. Not everything. Remember, I love you so much. I cannot express that enough. I wouldn’t have proposed if I didn’t. You are the first woman in my life that brought me to my knees. Others were just a fling or a one-night stand. What I feel for you is, without a doubt, real. When you feel loved by me, that is real. It’s not a lie, or fake.” I wasn’t sure if what he was saying was true, but I so wanted to believe him with my entire body and soul that he truly did love me. He paused for so long that I thought he wasn’t going to finish. “But, yes, my life is a lie.”

As angry as I was at him, I loved him with every fiber of my being. I nodded with acknowledgement that I believed his love for me was true, even though I was unsure. I wanted it to be true.

Claire lay back on the couch, staring at the ceiling, and it looked like she was completely and utterly lost. I was with her on that. “Can we get to the point? I lost Marc out there to those people…or not people. I don’t give two shits about your love for one another at the moment! Just get on with it, would you already?” Claire’s words came out with venom and frustration. She was angry and her proper etiquette flew right out the window. Rightfully so. I was angry for her.