I got to her building and she was waiting in the vestibule, which I didn’t expect. She also wasn’t dressed at all to go out, just in a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt. No handbag even. She slipped into my front seat before I could get out to open the door for her. Up close, I could see her eyes were red and swollen. Uh-oh.
“Hey, Honey. Why aren’t you ready to go? Are you running late? I can wait and call my dad on his cell phone to let him know.”
“Baby, I’m not going to dinner with you. I don’t think it’s a good idea. I think I’d just cry all through dinner, and that’s no way to be with your family around.”
My stomach was suddenly in knots. “Linda, I wasn’t expecting sex, but I wanted to say goodbye to you. Not like this. Not like this.” I was shaking all over.
“I know, Dennis. I was almost ready to get dressed and I realized I can’t do this. Saying goodbye to you is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I almost just called you to tell you, but I couldn’t do that. It would have been cowardly of me. I had to see you.” Tears were making trails down her cheeks.
“This isn’t how I wanted to say goodbye to you either, my love. There’s so much I wanted to say to you, and now I can’t. My parents will be waiting for us. Well, for me. Linda, Honey, please don’t do this. Go get changed. We’ll just be a little bit late. Please. Don’t make our last night together like this. What if we never see each other again?” I was pleading my case with her.
“Dennis, do you really think we’ll never see each other again? I’m really asking you what you think inside you.”
“I don’t know, darling. Neither of us can say. If this is the last time…I’ll regret it for a long time.” I kissed her hand and then her cheek.
“Baby, you’d better go, before I make a total idiot of myself. Don’t you see? It’s terrible now. Later tonight, it will be ten times worse. Dennis, my sweet darling, my Baby…I love you. I’ll always love you to some degree. Thank you for the most incredible summer of my life. And maybe this isn’t over. But it’s over for now. Please don’t call me until Thanksgiving. And don’t follow me. My Baby.” She got out of the car and ran into her building, and I could hear her crying all the way. Or maybe that was me. I was crying pretty damn hard myself, hard enough that I couldn’t tell the sound of my tears from hers. I pulled out of the spot faster than I should have. I couldn’t stand to be there one more minute.
I told my family what happened, and that I might never see Linda again. My family, to their credit, was very supportive, very caring, and they didn’t push me for more details than I wanted to share. My mother took my hand and held it with gentle pressure, letting me know how much she loved me without having to say a word. I kind of needed that right then. We ordered dinners none of us really felt like eating and what should have been a fun dinner ended up being a sad affair.
At home I couldn’t sleep, though I had to get up by 7 and get on the road at 8. I was driving myself up to Albany; my family didn’t need to come with me. My boxes and luggage all fit in the car (I was expert at packing it after two full years of going back and forth). After hugging my brother and my father, my mom walked me out to the driveway.
“Dennis, sweetheart, I know you’re badly hurt right now. And when you hurt, I hurt as well. I know we sometimes butt heads, but you know I adore you. Some men might tell you to go to bed with the first girl you meet back at school, but your father wouldn’t and I sure as hell won’t say that. But please, if you need anything, even just a kind and loving ear, you call us. Don’t call Linda, not until Thanksgiving like you agreed. It will just hurt you both. I love you, Dennis. Please don’t dwell on this while you drive. You need to pay attention on the road for the next three hours.”
I hugged Mom tighter than I had in a couple of years. I was finally appreciating her the way she deserved. “Mom, I love you. Thanks for being so good to me this past summer. I know it was hard for you. And I’m sorry for any pain I put you through.”
“Sweetheart, you didn’t put me through anything I couldn’t handle. You’re growing up, a little faster than I would have liked. But you’re becoming a wonderful man that your father and I are proud of every single day. And I love you too, very much.”
We hugged a moment longer, then I got in the car and drove off, on my way to Albany and to the rest of my future.
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Six years later….
I was walking down Austin Street, in Forest Hills, Queens, just a 20 minute drive from where I grew up in Bayside. It’s a very busy street, filled with stores and restaurants, near a lot of houses and apartment buildings. It’s also a block away from Queens Blvd on one side, the Long Island Railroad station on the other, and there is a lot of foot traffic and not much parking. I was pushing a stroller with my 2 year old twin boys, Evan and Bennett. They were napping while dad got the workout. We lived 3 blocks away in a nice 4 bedroom, 3 bath Tudor style house, similar to a lot of the houses in the neighborhood. We were on our way to meet their mother. who was shopping for some clothes for them.
I got near the store when I saw her: Linda. It was definitely her, longer hair, but still the beautiful woman I fell in love with six summers ago. That same beautiful face and dark brown eyes. She was looking around the crowded street and I waved my arm at her while I called out “Hey, Linda! Over here!”
She saw my arm, then she saw me, and a big smile lit up her face. “Dennis! Hi!” She walked over to us and, instead of offering her cheek, she gave me her lips to kiss. “Hi Baby! How’s our little ones?”
“Just great, Honey. They didn’t even get to miss their mommy” I teased. “Sleeping like two Angels.”
She knelt down to check for herself and Bennett stirred first. He opened his eyes and smiled as he said “Hi, Mommy!”
“Hi, Benny! How’s Mommy’s sweet boy?”
“I’m ok. Evan hit me with his elbow!”
“He did? I’m sure it was an accident.” She leaned closer and kissed him on his head, then she did the same with Evan, who stirred awake as well. “Hi Evan! How’s Mommy’s other sweet boy?”
“Tired. I love you, Mommy.”
“Me too! I love you, Mommy!” Bennett wasn’t going to be left out.
“I love you both. And I love your handsome Daddy.” She stood up and I got my kiss, right on my lips as people passed all around us, on their way to doing whatever they were up to. But that piece of the sidewalk was all ours. Sandy and Michael were with their father that weekend, or we would have been taking up the entire sidewalk in front of a Chinese restaurant.
“Hey, Honey. Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Oh yeah! I got the two cutest little suits. They’re going to be so handsome at their Uncle Tom’s graduation!”
I guess I have a lot to explain. It started that Thanksgiving, six years before…..
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I hope you liked this chapter. Please vote and comment, and I’ll tell you the story of how Linda and Dennis got back together.