Now..my friends, this is a short story born out of the ennui of a drab autum day...any similarity with living persons is pure coinidence!
I dedicate this story to my role model Arthur whom I love (but am not in love with) :)
She looked out of the window and sighed. Just another of those dreary autumn days where the golden and auburn leaves got painted over by the grey of the morning fog. The house seemed so very empty after a night where those strange noises which never seemed to be heared during the daytime still made her think that somebody was creeping around in the dark.
Come on girl, she said to herself, get going but that second voice in her head promptly answered..Rom has not been build in a day! Stupid, this habit she had developped to talk to herself. Well, as long I do not start it in public..she giggled!
Her husband had died, just about a year ago, they had been married for only about 5 years, a happy time full of laughter and activity and then this stupid speed driver hit his car on the freeway and there she was, a widow at the age of 32 . They always had talked about having kids one day and she pondered if that would console her ,but it is not so easy to imagine something you do not have. In a way she was glad, having a small kid growing up without a father would be quite a task.
But now she would go and see after her horse, horsebackriding always had been her childhooddream which she then could realize as a teenie. For her first wedding anniversary Oliver gave her her own horse. She had been crying with joy, - darling, you do not know what you have gotten yourself into - she laughed with tears in her eyes - well, as long as I come first, he grinned.
So now, fog or no damn fog, she would venture out into the open. She considered taking the dog but decided against it . The oldie might get lost in the fog. The dog had been her contribution to their marriage and it took some time before it accepted its new master. Two men being jealous of each other, she used to joke.
I will be back, be a good dog ,she said. Shayly looked at her, his head tilted. yes,yes, I will take you out later on, that's a promise!
As always, strolling the countryside with the horse gave her a soothing peace of mind, besides it also demanded enough attention because Little Lander was kind of a yellowbelly.
When she came home, she took the dog for the promised walk. In the meantime the fog had lifted and the sun had come out, They went down to the riverside, just about a 5 minutes walk away and she sat on a rock, watching the lazy waves glitter in the sun. A flock of wild geese approached and settled itself screeching upon the surface of the water. Such a nice sight, the pleasures of fall, she thought, the river hat another face at each season of the year.
When she came home, the daily paper was in front of her door. Well, lets see, what happened in this not ever so pleasant world today..she also had a computer which she looked into every day, facebook was a must.... but not so much for the politics, this coverage often had been so vile and depressing, she preferred the oldfashioned paper to read about those issues , although it seemed to her almost like news from yesterday.
Most anyway she liked the travel section, reading those reports and dreaming about foreign countries she just loved. With Oliver she had taken some very nice, interesting vacation trips all over the world..well almost.. and travelling, she thought, always made you live in another world. Her husband always had wanted to take a cruise, but she said that this was not her piece of pie, mind you , sweetie, imagine..just old people! But now she ran across a report about an Caribbean cruise, somehow it sounded quite interesting, she had seen some good reports about the region on television and now it somehow intrigued her.
Xmas will be coming up- horror - so I might as well pamper myself, she thought, I will gift myself with a Caribbean cruise in spring!
A dreary winter went, spring came and that cruise was still on her mind. Come on girl, you have to learn to travel by yourself, or do you want to be stuck in your house like an old hag with dog and horse, which is about the only reason to put your nose out? ok, ok, the second voice said..old hags have cats on their shoulders (vile laughter)..oh shut up, I might end like this, something has to be done! Jump into cold water, do it!
So she booked that cruise and from then on had this queasy stomach feeling. Of course she bragged about her venture on Facebook, some of her friends admired her, some were doubtful if this really was a good idea, but one of her friends, living on one of the Caribbean islands suggested they meet, should her ship dock at his island. She thought that this was a fabulous idea..and the ship really had the island on its agenda! So at least I have someone who can show me some of the things the normal tourists do not get to see, she hoped.
So the time came and she flew into Fort Lauderdale and stayed the night at a hotel at the beachside, very nice and all arranged for by the "package deal". Boarding the ship went smoothly too. She had treated herself to a nice balcony cabin...might as well, last shirt has no pockets No. 2 voice whispered.
Leaving the port had been quite spectacular, the skyline so beautiful and the sea!...so blue.
Took her some time to get her bearings around the ship, after twice a grinning steward took her out of the wrong aisle to her cabin she got the hang of it. Having breakfast outside in the heck section of the ship she liked best, breakfast is her favoured meal anyway she used to tell everyone.
So time went really fast aboard and with land excursions on the islands, and then the island to meet the friend approached. She was quite excited, meeting someone in person is still a big deal different from having a superficial correspondence!
Unfortunately the ship could not be boarded by non passengers, so they had agreed to meet outside of the security gate. Hope I recognize him she worried, imagine, if we miss each other just on accout of that!
But there was this tall, attractive guy waving at her and giving her a hug..and from then on it was easy, as if they had known each other for years. He drove a big pick-up truck, and she told him that she simply was in love with those trucks, a cowboy friend whom she had met in New Mexico drove one. So you love cowboys? he laughed. Well, she said, if you love horses you simply have to love cowboys! Now, a horse I can not offer around here, he said, but we have our assets.
She eyed him sidewise, was he ever beautiful! I will call him my black prince, she thought to herself and the thought made her blush.
The drive around the island had been breathtaking, they had lunch at the top of a mountain place, overlooking the lush landscape and the glittering sea..and they talked and talked and talked and it seemed as if they had known each other for ages.
Then it was time to drive back to the ship. I do not want to leave, she said. Then stay, he said, stay with me! What a crazy idea, she answered .. went aboard the ship, got her bags and checked out!.
So they had a wonderful time together, he showed her his way of life and she learned to appreciate the cheerfulness and friendliness of the people.
But every love-ly story has to come to an end, so they arranged for her to leave for home. Hey sweetie, she grinned, a very expensive trip, but worth every penny. They parted and both of them made jokes not to start crying. That she did on the plane and her seat neighbor offered her a hanky, felling sorry for that bundle of grief next to him.
Of course, once back home they kept in touch , which of course is not the same as being together. He kept begging her to come back, but in the meantime an awful president had taken over the country and she said that they would never let her into the country on accout of her bashing the horrorman on fb. Then all my money for the flight would have been thrown out of the window, she told him,
When she opened the mailbox the next morning he had sent her a mail..it held only one sentence..
MEET ME IN QUEBEC !
