He
spent his Saturday morning washing the car, buying flowers and picking up his
suit and shirt from the dry cleaner.
Julie was kept in the dark about the plans for the evening. She only knew he would pick her up at 4:00 PM. He wished it was winter instead of
autumn. While Marcus liked Fall colors,
the thought of walking hand in hand with Julie with fluffy snowflakes drifting
down made him sigh. He could picture the
quiet and serenity of such a time with her.
He hoped it would happen in a few months.
While dressing, Marcus paid particular attention to the details. He wasn’t happy with some of the wrinkles in the shirt. The dry cleaner shouldn’t have left them on the sleeves but it was too late to worry about that now. He was just happy the suit jacket would hide the wrinkles. He redid his tie three times to get the proper length. Once finished with the tie, he added a matching color handkerchief square in the suit pocket. Finally, he put a handkerchief in the right front pocket of his pants. His mother used to stress the importance of a gentleman having one. He didn’t plan on using it but it would make his mother happy. He may even tell her about the date just so he could mention the handkerchief.
He
arrived at Julie’s apartment at 3:56. A
woman about Julie’s age opened the door.
“Hi, you must be Marcus. I’m Anna, Julie’s roommate.” She put out her hand and Marcus extended his
as she continued, “Come on in. We are
still getting ready. It’ll be a few more
minutes. Why don’t you sit for a bit and
she’ll be right out.”
“Uh,
ok. Nice to meet you, Anna.”
Anna
hurried down the hallway to the second door on the right. She closed the door after entering. Marcus sat on one end of the couch and looked
around the room. The furnishings were a
hodgepodge of items. He mused they were
either hand-me-downs or garage sale items.
They were somewhat worn but clean.
While he was sure each item was purchased separately, the ensemble
worked together to give a feel a comfort and home. The smell of a lavender candle in the kitchen
filled the room.
Marcus
saw some pictures on pictures on a table more on the wall above. He stood and waked over for closer
inspection. Most of them appeared to be
Anna’s pictures. One frame had a collage
that showed Anna as a child, teen and college graduate. From the photos, Marcus mused she had two
siblings. Then he turned his focus to
the two photographs of Julie.
The
largest was a professional photo of Julie and her family. It appeared Julie was the second of three
children. The picture had the parents
seated with the three girls standing behind them. The whole family had clear blue eyes. Marcus was drawn to Julie. Though her smile was genuine, her eyes seemed
tired. His thoughts were interrupted by
the sound of a door opening. Anna
stepped out and gestured toward the door she exited and loudly exclaimed, “Ta
da!”
Julie
stepped out with a nervous energy and looked into Marcus’s eyes and
smiled. His heart leapt for joy at the
vision before him. Julie wore a black
sleeveless dress with a white scarf tied around the waist. Her hair was up which, other than being in a
ponytail, was a new look. Marcus loved
it. His mind repeatedly reviewed the
vision before him. It would forever be
imprinted in his brain.
Marcus
stepped toward Julie as Anna asked, “How’s she look?”
“Stunning,
incredible.” He held out his hand when
he reached Julie and she took hold of them.
Then he added with emotion, “You look beautiful!” Julie beamed.
Anna
walked to the kitchen saying, “Ok you two.
Get a room!”
As
the couple walked out to the car, Julie asked, “So what are we doing tonight?”
“Just
wait, dearest. Just wait.”
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