Finding Rebecca

Her feet shuffled along the gravel shoulder, her path illuminated by a bright moon that hung in the sky far above. Hundreds of twinkling stars filled the night sky. More stars were visible from the hill top than from the valley below and she periodically stopped and looked up in admiration. They made her feel so small and insignificant, and for a brief time made her problems seem so unimportant.

She heard an engine approaching from behind before the headlights appeared. She stepped deeper onto the shoulder and placed more room between her body and the road. When lights revealed her solitary figure the engine slowed and a slight squealing indicated that the vehicle was slowing down. Rebecca could tell it wasn't Dirk by the sound of the engine, and when it seemed the car was stopping she turned and looked.

?Need a ride, young lady?? a friendly male voice offered.

She approached the vehicle suspiciously. The occasional headlines about a missing girl appeared and made her more cautious than was her nature. When she stepped up to the open passenger door window and looked inside, the face that greeted her seemed harmless. There was the slightest hint of recognition. She'd seen him before, which meant that he was a local.

?Sure, thanks,? she readily agreed as she climbed into the car.

?You're dressed to kill?you haven't, have you? I have a thing against picking up killers,? he joked to lighten the mood.

?If I had it would have been a mercy killing,? Rebecca quipped as she acknowledged the thought had occurred to her.

?Are you heading into town?? she questioned, since the car was heading in that direction when it stopped.

?I have no particular direction in mind, so I'll be more than happy to take you wherever you'd like to go. Assuming we can get there on a single tank of gas,? he stipulated.

?I live a few blocks north of Wedgewood High, on Riverdale,? she told him. ?But I'm in no rush. I mean??

?I'm James,? he introduced himself and changed subjects before the mood turned awkward and uncomfortable.

?Rebecca,? she responded and warmly shook his extended hand. ?Thanks for stopping. It would've taken me most the night to get home on foot.?

Her answer begged the question how she'd gotten so far from town and why she was walking in the first place, but James was too much of a gentleman to ask. He cleared his throat as he tried to think of something to talk about that wouldn't be of a personal nature.

?I thought he was my boyfriend,? Rebecca offered. ?We've been going out for the past year. For some reason he thought that since tonight is the senior prom?well, he was expecting more than I was willing to give. Maybe he was right to expect it, but??

?That's how guys think,? he acknowledged. ?I know, because I used to be one.?

Rebecca laughed through the tears that rimmed her eyes and threatened to flow. ?You used to be one??

?Yeah, I used to be one,? he clarified for her edification. ?Guys stop being guys when they start being husbands; our mindsets change. They have to if the marriage is going to work.?

?What's your wife's name??

?It was Priscilla,? he replied.

The pain was evident in his voice, and she felt badly for asking. Their voices fell silent for several awkward moments, until James offered an explanation that was still difficult to provide.

?Cancer took her a little over a year ago,? he revealed. ?We were married for fifteen incredible years, and I wish I could do it again. It would be so different.?

Rebecca always heard older people saying things like they wished they could have done things differently. She often wondered what they meant. Maybe if she could learn by their mistakes she wouldn't be saying the same thing twenty years from now.

?Differently how?? she inquired in a casual, non-threatening way.

?I would've spent more time with her,? he quickly answered. ?I designed and supervised the installation of motor-controlled conveyor systems, so I spent a lot of time on the road. I wish I could have those weeks, those months back. Time is such a precious commodity but it's never appreciated until it's gone.?

Rebecca looked off into the darkness beyond the window. ?I'm very sorry.?

?I like your dress,? he complimented her as he moved the conversation into a new direction.

?Yeah, you're definitely not a guy any more, because only a husband would say something like that,? she decided. ?This thing is ghastly. My mom picked it out, but she still thinks it's 1975.?

?Well, maybe I do too.?

Rebecca softly laughed. She immediately liked him. He had a good sense of humor, he was mature, and she sensed that he was a very compassionate person. Why else would he have picked her up? 

She felt a twinge of excitement as she looked across the darkened interior of the car at his face, illuminated by the dashboard lights. He was a handsome dark-haired man and appeared to be in his mid thirties. She felt a strong attraction to him that she couldn?t explain, yet the feeling persisted. 

Rebecca started feeling better about the evening. The regret she initially felt for going to the prom with Dirk was replaced by the knowledge that if she hadn?t, she never would have met James. Fate worked like that. Things happened when they?re supposed to. The tears in her eyes cleared and her heart filled with promise. 

"Do you still spend a lot of time traveling?" she inquired. She was anxious to get to know everything about him.

"After I lost Priscilla I quit," he revealed. "The boutique was all I had left of her and I couldn't bear the thought of closing it down."

"Oh, so that explains it," Rebecca said to herself as realization dawned on her as to why the boutique seemed to suddenly go downhill.

"That explains what?" he asked.

Rebecca hadn't intended for him to hear the comment and now found herself in an awkward position. How could she tell him that his clothing selection was terrible?

"Nothing."

"Come on, be honest," he prodded. "I'm a husband, remember? I can take it."

"Well, your inventory isn't keeping up with changing fashions," she gently enlightened him. "Your wife did a good job, but..."

"But I'm not," he finished. "Sales have really fallen off. I wasn't sure why."

"It takes a woman's touch," she assured him. "Don't blame yourself.?

She truly felt sorry for him. She felt like reaching over and hugging him, but knew that she couldn?t. Not yet. And then an idea formed in her mind. And when it did, everything fell into place; the prom that she left early, Dirk being Dirk, James picking her up, and her finding out about his problems at the boutique. It was destiny.

?I could help if you want. I'm good at things like that and I'm not doing anything else this summer."

"I sold the house to keep the boutique afloat," he explained. "I couldn't pay you much."

Rebecca tried to figure him out. Was he saying that because he wanted her help but couldn?t employ her, or was he politely refusing her offer? She couldn?t tell him she?d work for free, because then she?d seem too aggressive. She was in a quandary as her mind tried to sift through the thoughts in its search for an appropriate response.

"I'm sure we can work something out.?

The car crossed a bridge and passed a sign that welcomed them to Wedgewood. As they approached a railroad crossing the red warning lights brightly flashed and the white barrier arms lowered.

He could?ve easily made it, Rebecca thought. There was no reason to stop, not unless he wanted to spend more time with her on either a conscious or sub-conscious level. Her full lips curled into an excited smile.

?You could?ve made it, James.?

"I'm enjoying your company," he confirmed what she already suspected, and his words heightened the excitement that coursed through her veins.

Rebecca reached her right hand behind the back of her neck. An irritated look appeared on her otherwise sweet face. Her fingers unsuccessfully yanked on a tag.

"This tag has been poking me all night," she complained.

"Here, let me."

James slid across the vinyl bench seat beside her. She leaned her head down and away from him as his hands reached up. He saw the white plastic anchor that was attached through the manufacturer's washing label. He carefully fished it out.

"I recognize my work," he casually mentioned.

Rebecca turned and faced him. When she did, the tips of their noses touched. Neither of them retreated. They could feel the warmth of one another's breath on their faces. He breathed in deeply and enjoyed the lingering scent of perfume on her neck as she noticed his cologne.

Their skin turned red and pink as they were alternately illuminated by the flashing red lights. He admired her beautiful face; the full pouting lips, cute upturned nose, thin plucked eyebrows, and the most adorable gray eyes he had ever seen. He could sense the warmth, compassion, fear, and uncertainty in her gaze. 

She was intrigued by the brown eyes that sparkled with kindness and devotion. But pain and loss lurked behind the fa硤e, and she felt the sadness that burdened his heart. Despair softened his features and drew her to him in a way she could not understand.

A loud clanking of steel wheels on steel tracks and a shrill whistling provided the backdrop for their first kiss. They both needed the reassuring comfort of another human companion. 

Their heads moved forward slowly as both hearts beat faster, stimulated by the excitement created by anticipation. When the tips of their noses touched, each head rotated to the right. Their lips paused with only a hundredth of an inch separating them. Their minds raced. She wanted the kiss, but he hesitated with uncertainty, nervous about her tender age.

Rebecca decided for him. She closed the distance and her lips lightly touched his. It was like kissing a cloud in a thunderstorm. The kiss was soft and gentle, but underneath was deep emotional turmoil that stirred their passion with crackling, electric-like surges of wondrous delight. His penis restlessly shifted and stiffened. Her nipples swelled and hardened, and immediate warmth filled her loins.

The lips lingered on one another's mouth, finding the contact undeniably tempting. James moved his head from side to side, brushing his lips against hers. His arms reached around her slender waist and pulled her closer. Her arms wrapped around his neck and eagerly hugged him exactly the way she had imagined hugging him earlier. They both wanted the moment to last forever.

His tongue extended and the moist tip delicately followed the contours of her upper lip. Hers was lured from her mouth by the teasing, and the tips touched. Slowly more of the tongues made contact, until finally they fully embraced. Rebecca invited his into her mouth, and James kissed her in enthusiastic excitement. The warm muscles entwined and playfully dueled as they explored the wonder of the soft, dark caverns.

His awakened penis swelled more, and his erection anxiously pulsated beneath his clothing. He felt like he was half his age, and getting lucky with the girl of his dreams. His heart raced as never before, and the dark cloud that surrounded his heart began to lift. He was sorely tempted to slide his hands to her front and fill them with her breasts, but he denied himself the attempt. He was more afraid of where it would lead to than he was of her possible rejection.

Rebecca shuddered in delight. The kiss was a beacon of light in the darkness of a frightening and uncertain future. Her hardened nipples anxiously throbbed and the tingling warmth in her loins triggered a wetness that seeped from her belly. She wanted him to withdraw his hands from her waist and press them upon the heaving swells beneath the dress, but she knew he wouldn't try. He wouldn't try for the same reasons she was so powerfully drawn to him.