𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐧

22. Farewell To Dreams

Aívy

Tuesday/October 22, 1991/Minneapolis, MN

"How about we have you drive yourself to work tomorrow morning?" Mrs. Elsie stood across the living room, taking a deep breath after hauling a box on top of another. I didn't ask for her help packing. She insisted.

"Prince actually hired this woman to ride me around."

"Well, he couldn't hire packers and movers for his little princess?"

The tone of the question made me laugh. "He tried. But I really don't need help. I'm not taking much." Plus, I didn't want strangers touching my stuff.

Mrs. Elsie mumbled, moving to the bathroom.

It hadn't even been 24 hours before Prince offered me the cohabitation deal. I was e-lated. My lease still had a little under two months before expiration, but I didn't plan to spend one more night in this box. I was so eager to spend my mornings waking up in his sea of silk and going downstairs to make him strawberry and cream pancakes.

"Are you sure?" I kept asking him.

"Yes, baby, I'm sure."

"I feel like we're skipping a few bases," I laughed.

"There are no bases when the universe is in control."

As he tasted every inch of me, I was so sure one of us would slip out those three sacred words. But it never happened. I was too scared and I guess he wasn't ready. But he had just invited me into his personal space—to live. Rather than question our instant uncanny connection, he was rolling with it, and I loved that.

Mrs. Elsie met me in the kitchen, a red hand-mirror in hand. "You need this? Mine broke." She was shopping too. Her TAKE ME box was nearly to the top with my whole apartment. "You don't need it," she decided for me, laying a sheet of newspaper across the countertop and laying the delicate item in the center. "And you're sure about this move?"

"Never been more sure of anything in my life."

"Well, I can't talk I guess." She folded. "My husband was paying all my bills three weeks after we met."

"What?" Mrs. Elsie never talked about her hubby to me, so I was excited to finally hear of him. Love, lovers and Prince were my favorite topics in discussion. "Three weeks?"

"After a month or two, we pretty much were doing this." She scanned the mess around us. "This is like déjà vu." Mrs. Elsie was beaming, which melted my heart. She resembled Mrs. Jenkins whenever she would bring up her late husband. "We were married 45 years before he moved on, God rest his soul."

"Wow...you think he was your soulmate?" I couldn't help myself. She was glowing, and I believed in it more than ever now. Spiraling in quicksand, Prince and I were closing in on our destiny.

Mrs. Elsie reached for my silver lidded salt n' pepper shakers. "You know I never believed in soulmates the first half of marriage until someone told me the story of where they came from. Some Greek mythology stuff. You ever hear 'bout it?"

"No." I guess I didn't need the shakers. Prince already had about five sets anyway. God! I just couldn't get over the fact that I was really about to be living with him! My cheeks ached from all the happiness on my face. "The woman who raised me only told me how it felt to meet your soulmate. I guess I never really gave thought to its origin."