CHAPTER – 32: Memories (2)

As I had expected, two hours later, Reina knocked on my door. She had waited until Gillian had left with her mom, and then came to my flat. When I asked if Gillian suspected anything, she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, and said, “I don’t think she suspects anything, but I really don’t care.”

“Rei, I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“I know, and I appreciate it. It’s just that... Sometimes I feel like I’m caged.”

“I know the feeling. I feel the same.”

Shushing me with her finger, she pulled me down for a kiss.

“Take me to your room and love me,” she said.

Without another word, I walked her to my room. The window in my room, like hers, was open to keep it cool, and I closed it to prevent anybody from hearing us. When I turned my attention back to her, she had taken her t-shirt off, and she was busy with the buttons of her shorts. I took a step to her and stopped her, then gathered her in my arms. Her arms went around my neck, and we shared a soft, lingering kiss. I guided her towards the bed, until she was standing with her back to it. With little kisses, I traced a line from her shoulder down to her tits, and spend some time kissing and licking them, before suckling on her nipples. Slowly I made my way down to her flat stomach, visiting her cute belly button. Kneeling in front of her, I helped her out of her shorts and panties, and guided her to sit on the edge of the bed.

I was still on my knees, and gently spreading her legs I moved in closer, and lavished attention to her tits, down to her stomach and back up again, as she ran her fingers through my hair, sometimes guiding my head to where she wanted more attention. Sitting back on my heels, I bent further down, and started kissing her thighs, and made my way to her clean-shaven pussy, but she stopped me.

When I arched an eyebrow, she said, “You don’t have to. I’m almost ready.”

“Rei, you said ‘love me’ and I want to love you. Please?”

I wanted to go down on her. I had done that only once before, with another girl, and she had enjoyed it. She was the first girl that had not been too shy to try something like that, when I suggested it. At the time, I didn’t know if she had come so fast because I had done a good job of it or if it was the result of excitement and novelty of what I had been doing to her. It was something I had read about, and seen while watching porno movies with the guys—when one of them had located his parents’ collection, and had decided to share the little treasure with us. I was also familiar with female anatomy, to a degree, thanks to extensive reading, the movies, and a few girls I had been intimate with. But, reading and seeing were different than the actual practice when it came to things I had not done before; as I had discovered that first time when I did it to my then-girlfriend. It had been quite exciting, and an interesting discovery. I found I liked and enjoyed the smell and taste of a woman very much.

Now, I wanted to do it for Reina, because it was something that I hadn’t done to her, and I was curious about her smell and taste. What’s more, I loved her very much, and I kind of wanted to worship her womanhood, finding this act more intimate than intercourse. I also knew she was more experienced than I, and I suspected one of her former boyfriends had probably done that, and I wanted to know if I could pleasure her with my own efforts.

She smiled, and scooted more towards the edge of the bed to give me better access. She leaned and kissed me tenderly, then, spreading her legs, invited me between them. Starting with little kisses on the inside of her thighs, I made my way to her pussy, and inhaled her smell. Gently parting the delicate folds of her pussy with my fingers, I darted my tongue between her lips to lick the exposed flesh of her inner lips, and felt her shudder at the contact. I kept wiggling my tongue, paying attention to her reactions, and increased my pace, overcome by the excitement of what I was doing to her. She had her hand on top of my head, and urged me to slow down, while moaning her pleasure.

Catching her outer lips, I nipped them, pulling them softly, and released them, before returning to soothe them with tender licks. My tongue dipped down, towards her channel seeking her oils. She tasted a bit tangy, but sweet, and the smell of her arousal was overpowering, making my heart race. As I turned my attention to the hood at the top of her pussy, and circled it teasingly with the tip of my tongue, she gave a drawn out moan. Her clit was peeking out, and when I blew on it to tease her, she clutched my head and pulled me hard against her pussy. I worked around her hood, and clitoris, feeling her shake with the stimulation. Licking her inner lips, I increased the pace, and kept hitting on her clitoris, running my tongue up and down and around her hood, and her moan turned into a low groan, and she started to shudder, getting close to her release.

Closing my lips around the hood, I gently sucked it, while the tip of my tongue lashed her nubbin softly. A second later, she froze and clutched my head, shrieking in pleasure. Her body was shaking and trembling, and her breath was coming out in short gasps. Feeling her come, I eased my ministrations, and ran my tongue up and down in her slit softly, collecting her oils, seeping between her lips, wetting my chin. As her hold on my head eased, I looked up, while kissing her pussy lips. She was still panting and shuddering in pleasure, her eyes squeezed shut. I moved my hands to her tits, and cupping them, I kneaded her flesh. Her nipples were erect, and they felt like small diamonds against my palms. Slowly she opened her eyes, sighing contentedly, and then her eyes locked on mine. She ran her fingers through my hair, before she moved her hands to her tits. Covering my hands with her own, she squeezed them gently, urging me to cup and massage her tits. After a minute or so, she pulled my hands up, and kissed my palms, before releasing them. When she leaned down for a kiss, her hair came down, like a curtain. I swept it behind her ears and locked my lips to hers. We shared a long kiss, our tongues dueling, teasing each other, and before we broke the kiss, she sighed into my mouth.

When our lips parted, I rested my head on her thigh, and put one arm around her lower back in a semi embrace. My other hand was on top of her leg, and I was trying to come to terms with the emotional storm that was raging inside me. I didn’t know if she felt what I was feeling, but when she finally managed to gather herself, she kept running her hands on my back, as if trying to soothe me. After a while, she bent down, and kissed my shoulder, the only part she could reach due to the awkward position we were. Closing my eyes, I listened to the endearments she was whispering; the smell of her sex all around me, and I didn’t want to move, giving myself to the comforting touch and feel of her body.

I wasn’t sure how long we stayed like that, but eventually, she stirred, and pulled me up for another gentle kiss, before she moved along the bed. When I climbed on the bed, she asked me to sit with my back to the headboard, and then straddled my hips. Her hands moved to my neck, and with featherlike touches she caressed and massaged it, and played with my hair. When my eyes found hers, she smiled. Her eyes were softened by her orgasm, and there was no trace of the dark clouds. As our eyes locked, her expression softened further, and she gave me a tender look, melting my heart. I had never been looked upon so tenderly, and with so much love. She almost turned my insides to water, making me catch my breath, and I could feel the beginnings of a lump at my throat.

I couldn’t help but wonder why she had such an effect on me. I had never felt anything like that before. I had never felt that strongly about any girl before; none had had me feeling so much love and sadness at the same time. There was this fragile quality in her loving gaze that filled my heart with love. But at the same time, it made my heart ache. Her eyes had held me captive with their secrets since that first night I met her, when I had caught her fleeting looks. Unable to bear the little distance between us, I wrapped my arms around her, and pulled her against my chest. Squeezing her tight, I felt her firm tits squashed against my chest, her nipples were trying to bore holes into my chest. She lowered her head against my shoulder, kissing my neck, and I felt little tremors running along her body.

Slowly she disengaged, and leaned back, holding onto my shoulder, and offered her breasts. Tentatively, I took first one, then the other of her nipples in my mouth and sucked gently. As I licked around the areola and continued to nurse on her nipples, she responded with little whimpers. I ran my tongue around her right nipple and began rubbing the sides of her breasts. Switching nipples, I cupped her breasts, squeezing them gently, before running my hand slowly around her sides, exploring her body.

Then, she pushed me back, and pulled herself up. Reaching between our bodies, she grasped my cock, aiming it at her pussy and, with deft little moves, impaled herself on me. She was wet and tight; tighter than before, perhaps as a result of her recent orgasm. When she had me completely inside her, I saw her eyes close, and a soft moan escaped her lips. For a short while we sat like that connected to each other, without moving or doing anything. Then, she opened her eyes, and with a smile, lowered her lips to mine. As our tongues dueled with each other, she exhaled her breath into my mouth, and I found myself falling into an abyss, pulled by an invisible cord that seemed to form between us, tugging at me, urging me to follow her somewhere, anywhere.

After the kiss, she rose up on my lap, her lips tightening at the feel of my cock sliding out of her, and plunged back down on me, her wet channel gripping me tightly, like a velvet glow along the length of my shaft. Then, she started to ride me, but she took her time, keeping a very slow pace, while I watched her beautiful tits sway. It felt great, but I was nowhere near coming, because the pace was very slow, and the stimulation wasn’t too strong. However, her breathing was becoming more pronounced, and her pussy was starting to get active, and I realized she was moving towards her peak. With my hand on her ass cheeks, I urged her to lean back. Bending forward, I licked and sucked her nipples in turn, while she put one hand behind her, on my leg, to support herself. A few minutes later, she moved her hand between our bodies, and worked on her clitoris. I helped her with back and forth motions, but after a while she seemed to lose concentration, her movements becoming erratic.

Sitting up, she pushed me back, and wrapped her arms around my neck. As she climbed to her peak, she started to ride me with urgency, crying softly each time she sat down. After a few more up and down strokes, she sat down hard, and let out a moan. As her body was starting to tremble, she worked her hips back and forth in short little moves. Then I felt the walls of her pussy contract around me, and her moan turned into a soft scream. Her arms tightened around my neck, and feeling her come, I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her tight against my chest. I felt her body shudder as her orgasm coursed through her body, consuming her totally, and her pussy went crazy around my cock, contracting and milking it, as if trying to suck my cum. If I had been anywhere close, I would have released my load to its demands.

With one last drawn out moan, she put her head on my shoulder, breathing hard against my neck, as her body sagged in my embrace, and I inhaled the sweet sweaty smell of her body, and the fragrance of her hair. Releasing my crushing embrace, I ran my hand behind her back, and sides, while she made small mewling sounds, expressing her pleasure. For a long time, she clung to me, breathless with her efforts, and tired from her orgasm, as I kept touching and caressing her. When she managed to gather herself, she pulled back and gave a gentle kiss, and we kept on kissing, lost in the feel of each other. Suddenly she broke the kiss, realizing I was still hard, and throbbing inside her, and looked at me with surprise written in her eyes.

“You didn’t come?”

I shook my head with a soft smile.

“Wasn’t it good?” she asked, her voice tainted with something I couldn’t figure.

“Rei, I loved it. I just wanted to savor the feeling. I still want to. You know, like this; connected to you,” I replied. I added a silent “forever” at the end of it. Before she could say anything, I said, “I don’t know when we would make love again, and I wanted to make the most of it.”

At my reply, she threw her arms around me and hugged me fiercely, until I thought I would suffocate. Sitting back, she said, “I want you to take me.”

I didn’t want to take her. I wanted to give everything she wanted and needed. I wanted to see her happy, and her eyes smiling.

As the thoughts were running in my mind, I must have shook my head, because I heard her ask, “You don’t want to?”

I was caught unprepared, and I didn’t know how to respond. In the end, I said, “I don’t want to take you, Rei. I want to make love with you.”

As I was telling her that, I had a completely different answer running in my mind.

I don’t want to take you, because you’ve taken me. You’ve taken me home, and I want you to take us home again.

She smiled fondly, and for long minutes we sat in silence, trying to catch our breath, and savoring the feel of each other, still connected by my erect penis in her pussy. After a while, she carefully lifted herself off me, and sat beside me. We were both hot and sweaty, but couldn’t seem to keep apart. At her insistence, we both slid down the bed, and lay down. She was in my arms again, hugging me tight, with her face resting against my chest. She kept running her hands all over me, placing soft little kisses on my chest. I wrapped an arm around her, and combed her long and damp tresses with the fingers of my free hand. After a while, she released me, and leaned back to look at my face.

“Mitch, I want to feel you inside me,” she said.

And I wanted to be inside her. Wrapping my arms around her, I rolled us over, but it was a bit awkward, as the sheets had gotten stuck to our sweaty bodies. With a soft laugh, she peeled the sheet from me, so that I could complete the maneuver I started. Once she was underneath my body, she pulled up her knees, and reached down to grab my penis, guiding me to her entrance. Acquiescing to her wishes, I pushed myself gently into her wet and hot channel, burying myself in her depths. Slipping my hands under her shoulders, I lowered my body, until I felt her stomach and breasts pressing against me, and she clutched my back. We were still wet with sweat, and I started to thrust into her at a slow and steady pace, taking short breaks to exchange brief kisses.

She was also active, moving her hips to meet my thrusts. There was an urgency to our coupling, as if the little distance between our bodies was too much, and we kept sliding against each other, the slippery, wet sounds of our bodies and the smell of sex filling our senses. And when we both drew closer, we slowed down, trying to drag out the moments, until the urgency overtook us again. Her channel was wet, but also sticky with her oils, and it felt like she was trying to hold me inside her, getting tighter and tighter.

“I’m almost there,” she gasped.

I increased my pace to make her come, and a few strokes later I felt her pussy clasp me. When she moaned, I increased the force and pace of my thrusts, trying to catch up to her. Then, she was there, gasping, and moaning, her tits heaving under my chest, the nipples swollen hard and rubbing against my chest, as I kept thrusting into her. Her inner muscles started their erratic palpitations, and I could feel her channel getting more wet and sticky with her oils. I was overcome with the stimulation of her pussy, and the tingling in my balls increased, the urge for release taking precedence over anything else. I felt the boiling heat travel along the length of my cock, and burst inside her channel. As I kept throbbing and pumping my seed, she closed her eyes, as if she was listening to something or looking inside her body. Her hands reached down to clutch my ass and she pulled me hard against her. She buried her face against my shoulder, and kept moaning her pleasure. Then releasing her hold on my ass, she let her head fall on the pillow, relaxing into the bed. Opening her eyes, she smiled with contentment, caressed my face, and pulled me in for a kiss, while writhing under me, rubbing her nipples to my chest.

After a while, I rolled us to our side, and she snuggled, kissing me, as I kept caressing her and returning her kisses. The sheet was wet and sticky with our sweat, and we were hot, but reluctant to break the bodily contact. I gathered her in my arms, and she tried to mold her body closer, pressing her tits against me, her leg thrown over mine. Her hand was busy at my neck, her fingers playing with my hair, while I ran my finger through her long tresses, and we kept on sharing soft little kisses. We stayed like that for a long time, as if in a cocoon and I felt... a sense of belonging, especially the way she clung to me, as if she would never let me go. And, my heart was singing... for the first time knowing what happiness was. There was so much I wanted to tell her, but I didn’t want to disturb the mood by talking, as our hands and bodies did their own talking.

It was half an hour later, when she broke the silence. “I think we should take a shower,” she said softly.

“I don’t want to. I want to have your sweat and smell on me,” I replied.

“Me, too, but we’ll have a stroke. It’s too hot,” she responded.

“I would die happy,” I retorted.

She laughed melodically, before asking, “Would you?”

Instead of an answer, I hugged her to me, tight, and kissed her, and she responded by clutching me hard against her. We stayed like that for a little longer, but in the end, the heat became unbearable, and with reluctance we broke the contact. Swinging my feet to the side, I sat up, momentarily getting dizzy.

“Just stay like that, Rei. Let me catch my breath, and I’ll help you,” I said.

Seeing me sitting motionless she realized I had moved too fast, and was dizzy. Once the dizzy spell past, I helped her to sit up, and standing up, I pulled her to her feet, taking care she didn’t move fast. Before we went to the bathroom, she wrapped her arms around me, and we kept holding each other. Somehow she seemed needy, and not yet ready to lose contact with my body, and to tell the truth, I wanted to hold her in my arms... forever. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I steered us to the bathroom. Using a sponge, we washed each other with lukewarm water, trying to cool off. After drying each other, we wrapped towels around us, and went to the living room. I was carrying a spare towel, and draped it on the big couch, so that we could sit naked, next to each other. I went back to my bedroom to open the window, and collected our clothes, bringing them back to the living room. We could dress up quickly if I had a visitor, without dashing to the bedroom.

Feeling thirsty after all the exercise and sweating, I took two cans of Coke from the fridge. She had put her towel on one of the chairs, and was sitting comfortably with her legs tucked under her on the big couch. When I gave her the Coke, she smiled mischievously, before she ran the cold can over and around her tits, gasping at the cold feel. I saw her tits heave, and the nipples swell. I sat next to her, and kept watching her run the can. I couldn’t keep myself from looking at her, or watching her beautiful tits; the whiteness of the skin in stark contrast to her deep tan, the perfect semi-spherical shape that fit inside my hands, and the diamond hard nipples that begged to be suckled. With an effort I averted my eyes.

“Mitch, why do you do that?” she asked.

When I didn’t answer, her hand cupped my chin and forced me to look at her. She arched an eyebrow, prompting me to answer her question.

“Sometimes, I can’t bear to look at you.”

“Why?”

“Sometimes, I don’t think you know how much you make my heart ache, Rei.”

“I know, Mitch. I love you too, and you’ve been a very good friend. I’m sorry. I just can’t keep myself from teasing you like that. I love the way you make me feel. I love the way you look at me.”

“I know so little about you...”

“Mitch, please. Don’t. We’ll talk, but not now.”

I acquiesced; not for me, but for her. She seemed so happy and content, I didn’t want to disturb the peace she seemed to find in the moment. Pulling her into a snuggle, I kissed her forehead, and followed it with little kisses to her eyes, the tip of her nose, and ended by kissing her lips. We sat like that, drinking our Cokes, with little talk, until it was time for her to go. She asked about my plans for the evening, and suggested a walk by the shore, instead of joining the others from the neighborhood to a visit to the nearby disco.

As planned, that evening, after dinner, Reina and I took a walk along the beach. Finding a secluded spot, we sat for hours. We talked a little bit, over inconsequential things, as I sensed her reluctance to talk about herself, and she was quiet most of the time. After a while, she moved into my arms, and sat between my legs, with her back against my chest, and pulled my arms around her belly. She looked content, and at peace, but... there was also a fragile quality. Her hands were busy, touching my arms, holding my hands, as if... as if she was trying to make sure I was really there. I was happy to hold her, but at the same time I was at a loss... at a loss why I felt like crying, when I was feeling so happy.

I already knew I had fallen in love with her... hopelessly in love with her... even though I had tried hard not to. How could I resist her, and those alluring eyes that hid something sad and mysterious, but also gave me the tenderest of looks? She still looked at me like that, each time she turned her head to share a kiss, and I caught her eyes, her face. I wanted to see her happy and contented, and at peace as she was now, for all time. I had this feeling of... belonging to her... I wanted to keep her safe and free from whatever worries she had, and it felt right... as if I had found a missing part of me... my home for forever.

After a while, she opened the buttons of her dress, and guided my hand inside, letting me cup her tit. “Just hold me,” she whispered, as she laid her head back on my shoulder, nuzzling my neck. And so we sat, watching the night sky filled with a million stars, listening to the softly breaking surf, while a half moon left its silvery trail on the water as it sank in the horizon. The smell of her hair and perfume all around me.

Her flesh was hot, burning my hand, and I was hard, wanting her something terrible. She had my other hand in hers, clutching it tightly. It took me a bit of time, but I managed to calm down and overcome my want, finding a certain comfort in holding her like that, perhaps sensing her need to be held. It was the happiest time of my life.

A memorable August day... and a memorable August night it had been...

 

. . . . .

 

By the time I finished my short trip in the past, I was smelling the fragrance of her hair, her perfume, the coconuts, and the salty sea air. The fingers of my right hand were curled... as if my hand was holding something... perhaps cupping her tit. I almost felt the heat and texture of her flesh, before the impression faded away, followed by the memory of her smell.

For several minutes I sat there, lost in her aurora, until the feelings washed away... the present claiming the past... After a while, I couldn’t sit anymore; the walls seemed to close in on me, making me feel claustrophobic. I got off the couch, and stood undecided for a few seconds, before making my way to my room. Putting on my sweats, I picked up my key, before remembering I had to lock the diary in my suitcase. Having done that, I went out to exercise, hoping the crisp cold air would bring me back to my senses.

As I started to jog, I concentrated on keeping a steady pace, not caring about my direction or anything else. I must have run at least six or seven miles, before slowing down to get my bearings. Once I figured out where I was, I jogged to the playground. It was early afternoon, past one o’clock, and the playground wasn’t crowded, the school children back at the classrooms after lunch. Locating a quiet corner, I started doing my Tai Chi exercise. At first, it was difficult, because I was distracted, but with persistence and concentrating on my practice, I finally managed to calm myself, and finished my exercise.

I jogged back to Kathy’s. I was calm, but in a funky mood; part of my mind was still busy. I knew I had not forgotten Reina, as she had been then; 19 years old, her long black hair blowing in the wind, the soft brown eyes that used to look at me with so much tenderness, even though that was in the past. What happened a short while ago told me I wasn’t ready to look at the past, or face her, just yet. The memory wasn’t painful this time; not as painful as it had been right after that summer, but still, it affected me. Melancholy was all around me, despite the calming effects of my exercise. I had mixed feelings about Dana and Sarah. Even though both of them made their own choices, and seemed to find happiness with me, at the back of my mind I was feeling guilty. The question that bothered me was, whether I was using them.

Dana had told me several times, it was her decision, and on a rational level, I knew it was, but on the emotional level, I still felt guilty. I believed I was returning her love and she had said as much, but that girl from the past was still very much a part of me, and I knew I missed that girl. I felt like I was being pulled in opposite directions; past and present. The funky mood I had was making me restless, and I suspected I might not be able to sleep tonight. What’s more, I was scared of having one of those dreams—nightmares—when the past, and Reina, came to visit me.

Back at the flat, I went to the bathroom to relieve myself. When I caught sight of my face on the mirror, I was surprised to see how bad I looked; old, tired, and with a dark face. I was planning to visit the sport center for a work out, but revised my plans slightly. Despite my deep tan, I wanted to get rid off my beard and moustache. They made me look old, and gave an edgy, and hard appearance; not a very friendly or warm face at all. I decided to trim everything very short, as if I had a day or two of growth, so that there wouldn’t be too stark a contrast between the exposed and unexposed skin. Still, when I finished the trim job, it looked odd, as there was a somewhat distinct contrast, partly camouflaged by the little bit of facial hair. I was hoping a few days under the sunlamp at the sports center might help get rid of the contrast. I left the bathroom, and picking my car keys and wallet, drove to the gym. I wanted to do some serious work out and become completely exhausted, so that I could perhaps fall asleep tonight.

At the gym, I worked about four hours. Starting with the bicycle, I moved to the rowing machine, then to the weights, getting a good workout. I ignored the quiet snickering of some of the other guys, when they saw the weights I was using. Compared to the weights they were exercising with, which were in the range of 200 to 250 pounds, mine were slightly more than half of theirs, between 100 to 130 pounds. Well, I wasn’t going for body building, like they were. I didn’t need the short bulging muscles, but the long and lean muscles that had endurance, flexibility, and speed. My exercise scheme was built around low weight but lots of repetitions; I could keep going long after my muscles started to burn and scream for relief.

After an hour of working out, I took a break, as my left arm was starting to bother me; the result of the little injury to the vein during the blood test this morning. And, I didn’t want to tire myself completely, because I was planning to practice my kicks and strikes.

Locating a heavy punch bag, I started practicing low and high kicks, first at medium speed, and then picking up speed, I repeated them faster and faster, until I was satisfied with the results. I repeated a similar kind of exercise that involved various hand strikes, based on a select number of Tai Chi forms and a few from other disciplines. I practiced the simple punches with the closed fist, then the blade-like strikes that used the inside and outside edges, and the second knuckles (with the fingers curled in a half fist), the open palm strikes, and strikes with the back of the hand.

I repeated them until I was satisfied with the combination of technique, and speed. With the correct technique, and the addition of speed, the results were very satisfactory. Of course, channeling the chi, the results would have been much more than what I had accomplished. However, despite years of practice, which had made me fairly proficient, I hadn’t completely mastered channeling the chi, yet. And today, I wasn’t in the mood to practice the intricacies of chi. It had been a difficult and trying day, and physicality was what I needed. What's more, I hadn’t practiced with a punch bag or similar, the hard forms of martial arts, for quite a long time, mostly because I found the soft forms, and the spiritual aspects more to my liking, and now, I realized how much I relished the experience.

Finally, I made my way back to the weight machines, once again, to finish off my exercise; this time aiming for endurance until my muscles would scream in protest. As I started working out, I noticed the guys who had been snickering a while ago were quietly chatting among themselves, and when I caught parts of their conversation I almost laughed. They were trying to figure out what martial art I had been practicing, but none of them were anywhere close with their guesses. From the curious glances of a few, I knew they had some questions, but I wasn’t interested in idle chat, and I didn’t care for their attitudes. Like many of their ilk, I knew they were impressed because of the raw power they had witnessed, even though I wasn’t showing off for their benefit. Not to encourage them, I concentrated on my exercise; moving quickly from machine to machine in a business like manner, projecting a deliberate sense of reserved coldness, intended to keep them at a distance. I spent about an hour, until I was completely exhausted from physical exertion. After catching my breath, I headed to one of the private booths, to work on my tan under the sun lamp. When my hour was up, I decided to take a shower at home.

On the way back home, I thanked my lucky stars for buying this particular model car, because without the power steering I doubted I would have been able to drive. My arms and hands felt like rubber, and I couldn’t have steered even a baby carriage or anything that required more muscle work—like my sister’s Renault, which had a very heavy steering. I was that tired.

After a luxurious shower, I went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. It was already late afternoon, and Kathy would be coming in about two hours. Although I was very tired, and almost tempted to leave it to Kathy, I forced myself, because I enjoyed cooking, finding it very relaxing. I also wanted to keep busy, and didn’t want to be in the position of lying to Mom, I thought to myself, chuckling at how I did get myself in a bind at times.

It was a simple menu, consisting of tomato soup, chicken with vegetables, and pasta. I was planning to stir-fry the chicken and vegetables in the wok, while the soup would require warming up. The pasta was a recipe from Mom, very simple but quite delicious. Boiled and buttered macaroni, with cheddar cheese, feta, and a bit of basil, in layers, placed in a flat pan, and cooked in the oven for a short while to get a crisp top, and soft pasta inside with melted cheese. Kathy would probably complain about the calories, but she would eat it, nevertheless. As I was thinking of Kathy, I realized I hadn’t heard anything from Sarah. She had promised to call me, but perhaps I missed her call when I was out at the gym. I remembered she had plans for tonight, but I wasn’t in any condition to be able to do anything with her. And, after the little episode in memory lane, I wanted to be alone tonight. Finished with the preparations, I lay down on the couch, and put on the TV, listening to the news. I must have been very tired, because I fell asleep.

 

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