15 hours in 213 (eBook)

Dreams of age

B.E. Brecht (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
220 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-6469-1 (ISBN)

Infos

Thirty-eight years. And still, when their eyes meet, it feels like first love, new and beautiful. The draw is undeniable. Their need to touch, kiss, and hold is more powerful than ever before. Aaron and Kelly have lived good lives-the kind every couple wishes for from the day they slid rings on another's finger. The countless miles and alternate vows have blocked their paths to becoming one. But as always, their never-ending need for one another builds until the wrong becomes right, and the once endless miles dwindle until the two become one. The magic has never died, they live and breathe every moment allowed and take every second they can steal to store away for the oncoming battle of aging. In their battle for love, they comb through decades of diaries and relish the memories of words young hands wrote. They love and touch as they always have, all the while knowing that this night will end with another last day. Thirty-eight years all lead to this. Fifteen Hours in 213.

B.E. BRECHT became a romance novelist after suffering a minor stroke at fifty-six. While recovering, the memories from his first love inspired him to write ALWAYS ONE, the first in what would become a trilogy. ALWAYS ONE, ETERNITY, and 15 Hours in 213. He continues to write romance novels, the next to be released, The Winds Of Donegal. He calls Colorado home and enjoys spending time with family and friends, riding his Harley-Davidson, and taking trips to the tattoo shop. His passion is traveling the world, taking photos and collecting memories for writing inspiration.

Textauszug

Chapter 1

Sunday, July 31, 2022

“This is a bit ominous,” I said aloud as I entered the hotel parking lot and looked for a place to park. “Of all the songs in the universe, why must they play ‘Time In A Bottle’ right now?” For unknown reasons, I sat in the car and listened until the song ended. The anxiety running through my body was intense. Excitement mixed with fear caused me to shake slightly.

My parking spot gave me a complete view of the front of the building. I scanned the second-floor windows, wondering if she waited behind one of them. Did she beat me here? I fiddled with the radio, trying to turn it off, something I never do. My norm is to turn the volume off, then watch the display to see what songs are playing, and turn it up if it suits me. I reached behind the seat and found my mirror. What I saw looking back at me was happiness, laced with worry.

“Stop stalling, Aaron. She will be here around 5:00, and it’s only 3:30.”

Movement caught my eye. A beautiful yellow lab was dragging its older person along the sidewalk on the way to do its duty. Again delaying the inevitable, I watched the duo finish what they had come to do. She stared at me as she walked back the way they had come. By the look on her face, I could tell she was wondering what I was doing just sitting there in the hotel parking lot.

Breaking eye contact, I reached for my bag and then quickly headed to the front doors. Following a young couple with two daughters through the doors, I went to the check-in desk and gave the clerk my information. As he entered it, I nervously asked the young man, “Has Kelly checked in yet?”

“Let me check for you.” After a bit of pecking at the computer, “No sir, you are the first to check-in. Would you like both keys?”

“No, thank you. Please save it for when she arrives.”

“Can do! Thank you for staying with us. We will make sure she gets it.”

“Thank you very much.”

“You are welcome, sir.”

As I started to walk away, he called to me, “To find your room follow that hallway just past those two big plants, and the elevator will be on your right. Go to the second floor, turn right, and the room will be on your right.”

I smiled in appreciation and followed his directions to the room. The last few steps to the door were difficult. She is obviously not in there. He just told me that. Just keep walking... 211... 212. Then coming to a stop, I turned to face it. Room 213.

Thirty-eight years ago, I wasn’t so nervous about entering a hotel room that would lead to us being together. But so many things have changed in all the years leading up to this day. In our early years, we were beautiful in shape and eager to face life together or apart. To this day, Kelly is always in my thoughts of days gone by.

Salt and pepper hair, skin that is not so elastic anymore, a stomach that no longer hides behind the waistband, and a button that hold my shorts up, I worried about what her reaction would be when seeing me.

The years have been hard on this man in his late fifties. It seems an eternity since the eighties when we were in the prime of our lives and loved so hard. Still, those days control my heart and mind, memories I fight relentlessly to hold on to. Unfortunately, life refuses to let me keep not even a single physical thing that I can hold, touch, or look at, refusing any proof that she and I were once together. So, I have reluctantly learned to live without such verification, only for one reason, her dignity.

Her eyes have mesmerized me since the first second we met. And to this day, they still control me. In the early years, it was so simple. The only thing I needed was her. And all she wanted was me. A combination that would eventually overwhelm us with a love and desire that would lead to what she and I call truly eternal. Soulmates.

When we touch, something magical happens. It’s hard to explain to people who have not felt what Kelly and I have. I am positive that throughout life, there is only one person on the planet who is a complete match and will walk with you through eternity.

Sadly, many people never find that one perfect mate who finishes their sentences and thinks the same thoughts. Someone who can’t breathe completely without you. A person who can tell you they love you from across a crowded room without saying a word. A person who can love endlessly without jealousy. Most never find that one person who can feel their pain, sorrow, and joy even when thousands of miles separate them. All of this. Kelly and I have all of this and more.

Our feelings and emotions always lead to absolute romanticism. When you have this, you can do anything without hesitation. For example, you can dance in a food court at the zoo in front of a hundred people, then walk away, holding hands and laughing, not embarrassed in the least. You can stand in the middle of a dance floor interlocked in a slow dance position while Adam Ant sings “Goody Two Shoes” with a thousand people jumping, spinning, and dancing around you to the fast beat. You never notice them because you have become one in your own little bubble in time.

But with life, nothing can be perfect. Many years ago, there came a time on a fantastic but awful night when our love was tested, and we failed miserably. Then, three decades and millions of thoughts later, we again found one another, instantly rekindling the faded spark into a raging flame. Only this time, we would have barriers to climb, troubled relationships, children, and grandchildren—all of whom we loved tremendously.

Reaching up, I slid the key card into the lock, gently opened the door, and entered the dark room. Finding a light switch, I flipped it up to illuminate the brown floor, doors, and wall trim that surrounded beige-painted walls, making the white king-size bed loaded with fluffy pillows glow as the focal point.

On a table for two sat a bottle of wine. And in front of it stood two wine glasses on either side of a small box of expensive chocolates with matching napkins folded into perfect triangles. I do believe I’m being seduced.

I was optimistic about where this encounter would lead us. The email seemed vague and unsure, but it made clear that we would be sharing this beautiful room tonight.

Opening the curtains to look out, I let the sun’s rays warm my skin that had prickled at the room’s coolness. I stood nervously looking to the west, when I noticed the room was just too quiet for me. In a hurry, I made my way to the truck then back up to the room.

After turning on my Bluetooth speaker, I carefully set it on the dresser next to the TV, grabbed my phone, and started some soft jazz. It didn’t take long for the music and sun to tire me. I glanced at my phone and knew it would be at least an hour before she arrived, so I pulled one of the pillows down and lay crossways on the bed, and dozed off.

A beep from my phone startled me awake, a message from her.

Kelly: I’m about five minutes away. Sorry, it has taken so long.

Me: You’re fine. I’m just relaxing and listening to some Jazz. Chocolates and wine?

Kelly: *a blushing emoji* See you soon!

Reading her texts made my heart almost explode. I got up, went to the window, and closed the curtains, “We need to be careful.” Then, impatiently, I sat down on the recliner in the corner of the room.

My mind raced and my excitement built. I couldn’t sit still. Another message.

Kelly: I’m pulling into the parking lot now.

I quickly got to my feet and noticed I had made a mess of the bed during my nap. So, hurriedly, I smoothed the wrinkles and replaced the pillow to its previous location. Then from deep within, I felt her, and I turned to face the door.

My pulse skyrocketed at the click of the door unlocking. My eyes locked onto the handle a millisecond before it moved. I breathed in deeply and held it.

I can’t count the times she made her way into my thoughts over the many years we were separated. Some are happy, some sad, but all of them are a part of the lifetime of memories I cherish.

In 1999 on a cold November morning, I sat in a tree stand waiting for the sun to break the horizon and start my day of archery and deer hunting. Shivering, I patiently waited for the sun’s warmth and hoped the quest would end quickly. I scanned the surrounding woods in the pre-dawn light, searching for my quarry. Glancing to the east, I detected the sun fighting its way through the few clouds that floated on the horizon. Soon after, the sun’s rays found me through the leafless canopy. I closed my eyes and let it warm my face. Then the feeling, her feeling, engulfed me.

It had been 16 years since we touched, yet I could still feel her. Memories filled my mind, making me smile. Feeling her is normal for me, but it was more intense that morning. I opened my eyes and quietly said, “Yes, I feel you too.” Then, being alone in the woods and not worried that certain ears would find my...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 26.8.2024
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3509-6469-1 / 9798350964691