Part-1) Ric faked a heart attack to meet Lori and tried to set up a meeting that never happened, until they ran into each other somewhere else.

Part-2) Hope of a possible night together—didn’t work out. But when a family emergency cut time together short, plans were made to stay in touch until they could meet again.

As things worked out, Ric hadn’t returned to Florida the next week as planned or in time for Christmas break. Lori's semester ended the last of May, and he got back to Florida on June 3rd. They had left each other dozens of messages but kept getting their wires crossed, so, for six months they hadn’t spoken but twice on the run. Second day back at the beach, Garland, Lori’s good friend, gave Ric the big news. Lori’s wedding was set for the following Saturday.

Part-3) Sam gave Ric permission to pursue his daughter Lori. Lori called off the wedding with Brian. Then Ric decided to accept his loss and go home to Los Angeles before he knew of Lori’s decision. David dropped Ric at the airport, then drove to party in Birmingham, AL. Garland left in limbo.

After falling-out with his running mate, David hadn’t talked to Ric or returned to the beach in three years. Flipflops popping and an iced cooler of Dos Equis Especial in hand, Garland’s sun-glazed body glistened on the sand as he approached.

She greeted him with a greasy, Hawaiian Tropic hug, which he didn’t seem to mind. Then admitted how much she had missed seeing him for so long.

She wasted little time before explaining how Lori had cancelled the wedding to Brian, the same day he and Ric had left town. And although Lori hadn’t heard from Ric, she still waited and hoped he’d come back.

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On the West Coast, Ric sat bedside, nauseated, head slumped in his hands. Another drunken wasted night. His mind had wandered through convoluted dreams, time-skipped dissociations of so many mistakes and bad choices. Last night’s naked bed-buddy another perfect example: lying twisted in the sheets, her name unrecallable.  

He stumbled to his feet and weaved his way to the lavatory, lifted the seat, and put his hand against the wall to steady his swaying spaghetti legs.

A fleeting glance at the mirror glimpsed a disgusting pernicious stranger. Once a hollow, white bunny of hope and seeker of fulfillment, he had spiraled “Down the rabbit hole,” wallowing lost in bizarre chaos and confusion.

For three long years he’d doused his self-pity and pain with alcohol—which, fanned the flames to burn brighter—and intensified the unescapable hurt.

But time had come to make a change. To rewind and get back to the starting place where all his troubles had begun. So, he called LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) and made reservations.

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Back in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, Lori was stuck in a rut between work and home. Her limited focus made master’s and doctorate degrees, framed, and hung on the wall, nothing but worthless combustible residue. For now, talking a bartender’s trash and slinging drinks at dad’s steak joint suited her well.

Reminiscent of a soap opera and gossipy-chat-addicted, middle-aged housewife, Lori’s daily diet of quickie junk foods and potato crisps had resulted in chipmunk cheeks and midriff bulge.    

She no longer bothered to apply her once meticulous makeup. A preeminent prize, she’d waned to inconspicuous, her straggling-gray sprigs invaded her once silky-sheened raven tresses, now regularly pulled back in a ponytail or twisted into a bun. Fine lines around her eyes, and dark bags beneath. Too young to feel so old. And too old to keep making the same foolish choices.

Life truly is for the living, but too long ago she had died inside and given up. But now was her time to break free, choose a mask, and become part of the masquerade.  

____________________________________________________

David and Garland sprawled on her giant towel, drank beer, and giggled until midafternoon. They’d always gotten along well, smitten for years before Garland and Ric’s one-night hookup had driven a permanent wedge. But that was many years ago, and this was a new day and time.

“How about we slip across the street to Fudpucker’s and grab lunch?” David suggested.

“Sounds like a winner,” Garland agreed.

Inside, a perky blonde waitress with a southern Louisiana drawl parked them in a back-corner booth. The Allman Brother’s Sweet Melissa played on the jukebox, the oh so familiar words seemed to fit.

“Crossroads, seem to come and go, yeah
The gypsy flies from coast to coast
Knowing many, loving none
Bearing sorrow, having fun
But, back home he'll always run to sweet Melissa
Mm-hmm”

 

Goo-goo eyed, they munched down on Fud burgers with cheddar and bacon. Grease oozed down Garland’s chin as David snatched up a napkin and caught it before first drip, unaware of the ketchup smeared on his shirt. Garland spotted the syrupy condiment and wiped off what she could. They cackled like children.  

“David, I’m so glad to see you back at the beach.” Infectious elation bedazzling her face.

“And thanks to you, I’m glad to be here,” David replied. “I’ve really missed seeing you.”

_________________________________________________

Later that evening, Ric eased into Pandora’s and climbed the steps to the second-floor bar. Sam spotted him immediately, rushed over and took him by the arm. Curiously, Sam wasn’t happy as he led Ric outside, and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I, uh . . . came to see my friend.” Ric said with hesitation.

“I’m sorry pal, you don’t have any friends around here anymore.”

“I’m disappointed to hear that, Sam. I thought you’d said we’d always be friends.”

“That was before I learned what a self-centered coward you are, Ric.”

“I guess, I’ve got that coming.” Ric hung his head and stared at the ground. “But I tried to do what was best for everyone, not just myself.”

“Anybody else might believe that bologna, besides me. But I gave you my best wishes to break up my daughter’s wedding and cost me a fortune. Then you ran off like a sissy bitch.”

“I didn’t run.” Ric claimed, chewing his lip. “I just didn’t want you to hate me for coming between Lori and Brian if things didn’t work out.”

“Ric, I encouraged and condoned your actions. So, that’s bull crap. Anyway, Lori works here now and she’s about to come on duty any minute, so I’d appreciate it if you’d leave and don’t come back.”

“Yes, sir, if that’s what you want, I’ll be on my way.”

Shocked by Sam’s reactions, Ric turned and walked off.

Sam watched as Ric ambled across the parking lot, then said, “Ric . . . I still love you brother and wish you the best, it’s just been a hard three years for Lori and she’s not up to this right now.”

“I’ve got you, Sam. I’ll head back to the airport and be gone. I wish you, Lori, and even Brian the best.”

“Brian? Where the hell does he come into this? Lori didn’t marry Brian. She called the wedding off for you . . .  then, you skipped out. She hasn’t seen or talked to Brian. Well . . . only to send him away when he comes groveling.”

No sooner than Sam stepped out of sight, Ric had a sudden change of heart as he neared his rental car. He turned and beelined it back to Pandora’s side-entrance. Just inside the door, Garland jumped from the booth and grappled him around the neck in a bearhug.

“Hey pretty girl . . . you going hunting,” Ric asked?

“Huh . . . going hunting?” She questioned with a smile.

“Yeah, I see you’ve brought your dog with you,” as he pointed at David in the booth and laughed.

Not amused by Ric’s humor, David said, “Ha-ha, Ric the comedian, he walks in and Garland ditches me like a taco wrapper, from hero to zero in 7.2 seconds.”

“Oh, shut up, you whiny cry baby. You’ve kept Garland miserable over a ten-year-old, one-night mistake. I’m not sorry it happened, because she’s become a special friend. But it’s on you. Blind and stupid, you quit her and stayed sidetracked sifting through tourist babes hunting for hidden treasures. Garland’s the luxurious gem. And she never wanted me, so stop sulking and grow up.”

“Ric, you promised,” Garland said.

“I’m sorry Garland, sworn to secrecy all these years, it’s just time to get it said. If you keep waiting for your dummy to figure it all out, you’ll both be too old to do anything about it. Glad to see you Garland . . . and you too, David. Now if you’ll both excuse me, it’s time I fix my own mistakes.”

Upstairs at the bar, I climbed up on the end stool. Lori worked in a dead run. She leaned over in the cooler bending up and down, scooped ice, and filled a bucket with five Michelob Ultras.

On the chain around her neck hung a pendant which swung to-and-fro in unison with her abundant cleavage. Mesmerized, I stared in a hypnotic trance.

Once Lori stood, her lips parted in surprise as her eyes met mine and she froze. I rose as she flipped up the counter. Her arms entwined my neck, legs scissor-locked around my waist, and she hugged me like she’d never let go. In our own world, we were oblivious to everything around us.

Sam watched, then hurried over and said, “Okay, you two take it outside or get a room.”

The crowd laughed and cheered.

Lori rushed back behind the bar and said, “Daddy, I just wanted to say hi.”

Sam pushed her, and said, “Go on, it’s been a long time, and you haven’t had a day off in months. Get out of here and enjoy yourselves.”

Lori smiled, kissed Sam on the cheek, and took Ric by the arm. Outside, they made out like kids in the park. Then they drove to Lori’s without questions.

They entered the house, and Lori flung clothes in an erotic Burlesque striptease from the middle of the living room. Stark naked, she looked at Ric and said, “So, take it all in, big boy.” Her cheeks, the ones on her face, rosy with embarrassment from her uncharacteristic actions. “Is this something that can keep you satisfied for a lifetime?”

Dumbfounded, at a loss for words, Ric stripped naked and said, “How about this?” He held up his hands and raised his shoulders. “So, what do you think?”

Lori squinted, looked down, and said, “Well . . . uh—” As if in deep thought. Then, she laughed, stepped over, took Ric by the hand, and led him to her bed.

A barrage of fireworks, their bottled-up three-year passion erupted into eight days and nights of vigorous, romantic, and beautiful love making. A marathon of magnificence, at least in Ric’s mind, and hopefully in Lori’s too.

An early morning glimmer through contorted window shades, lit the couple's joyful faces staring into each other’s eyes, and Lori asked, “So, where do we go from here?”

“Anywhere with you suits me.” Ric’s smile aglow. “Where would you like things to go?”

“Well, Ric, all us girls want the fairytale happily-ever-after, but we can’t do it alone?”

“I want you, plain and simple.”

“And how long will that last? Another week, a month . . . or is there any hope for longer?”

“Forever . . . far as I’m concerned.” A hint of inner panic bled through on his face as he spoke the words Lori so wanted to believe.

“Well, the problem is, you travel two or three days a week or more and live every night somewhere in a hotel.”

“Yes, but you could shop, workout, or sleep all day if you’d like.”

“Ric, I can’t live in a different hotel every few nights, and you can’t live in a lazy little redneck beach town infested with tourists for six months and empty the other six.”

“So, what’s your suggestion, Lori?”

“I’m not going to live somewhere and raise two or three snotty-nosed brats alone, while you pop home for a couple days every few weeks.”

“Okay, I’ll just have to quit traveling and find another profession.”

“Oh, and then you’ll be miserable in a few years and blame your unhappiness on me? We both know that won’t work.”

“You don’t want to go with me . . . and you don’t think I can live here and be happy. So, what’s the next move?”

“I guess, for now, we just do our own things and be with each other whenever we can, Ric. I hate the idea, but I’ve had three years to think about it. At first, I’d written it off as impossible, until I saw you again and realized anything was better than losing you.”

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David and Garland had four children and lived the perfect uplifting conclusion to a happy marriage.

Lori and Ric’s situation was never perfect. But the madly-in-love couple spent every possible minute together for thirty-plus years, and insanely missed the other whenever apart. Infertility staved off children. Troubled stretches brought other lovers and even a couple spouses between the glorious times. But the couples constant yearning never eased. Even with one passed on, an undying love lives on.

Readers will wonder how this story continued past the first chapter, but it’s simple.

Breakups bring makeups

True love never ends

We just turn the pages

To write another . . .