Kentucky Blues

Chapter 1

Leela waves her hand over her head, and the dark room comes back into light. She is hunched over her laptop. She sighs. A long kept secret in her chest smolders the edge of her lungs. In the soft glow of the overhead light, she sees the picture. The one of their first date together. That had been four years ago. She smiled, letting the exhilaration of memory flood her body like bath water cascading over her stomach. A tinge of color touched her cheeks, and she blushed to think the evening might have in store.

They had meet during the first week in college. God, they hadn't changed much. Those early awkward days, of holding back. Her mind admonishing her for her minor flaws. The things her mind held to the light of her bathroom mirror. Her chastising tone, this is why men don't like women with glasses. She touched her cheek. Her skin tensing the way it had on that first date. The one where he kissed her. She felt through the memory, lingering in the past. Had she known from that first date that they were fated to spend their lives together. To say it was love at first sight would be too close to the romcom cliché. Boy meets girl. Girl falls uncontrollably in love with boy. Boy messes up.

Her phone vibrates on the table, bringing her back into the small intern office. She checks the number, and answers.

"I'm just finishing up, It's not even six yet?" She checks the digital clock on the wall. Hoping that she is actually right. Time is one of those things that does not agree with her. She breaths out slowly. It reads 5:35. She has time. "I'll be home by six, and ready for our date. You worry too much."

There is some note that she catches in his voice. Some strange hidden underlay. It would be totally unnoticeable if they had not spent so many years together. She wondered if tonight was going to be the special evening she had dreamt since she was seven. The idea played in her mind. He would be nervous, of course. Four years together, and they were still finding new ways to keep the romance alive. She just knew in her heart of hearts that she had been one of the lucky few. She had managed to meet her future husband on her first day of college.

The picture of her life formed in her mind. English lit major, she had managed to get a coveted internship at a publishing house in the city. They would raise their kids in the suburbs. She might be able to name a couple after her literary heroes. The characters that were always larger than life. The Rhett Butlers of the world. Her mind was soon lost in baby names, and well-manicured lawns. James, out in the yard. His muscles flexed against the push mower. She became so lost in the image of that future; she couldn't help but smile. She clicked through the last few images of copy and shut off her computer. She was always working late. It wasn't unusual for her to nod off at her desk before heading home. Not tonight, she thought. Tonight, James has something special planned.

She left the office and made her way to the subway. Without pause she got her train and would be home soon. Leela sat in contemplative thought. Her mind rolling in the memory of her college days. Everything was on track. Like the subway she rode. She felt certain of her destination. She smiled at the thought of how special tonight was going to be. Briefly, she thought about herself in later years. Streaks of gray at the edges of her hair like frost in Autumn. She felt it in her core, felt it deep inside of herself. They had become two vines wrapping themselves together, creating one single strand of rope. Together they could face all things. Together, she thought, they would sit in bed, years from now, in the early morning. Before the kids wake. They would look at one another and say remember that day so long ago. I love you more than ever. Then he might lean in and they would kiss. No amount of time would tarnish or age their love. She felt this truth like a prick of heat in her chest. Tucked safely behind her heart like a soft furnace in a cold winter. She carried this thought all the way home.

Checking the time, she realized it had taken her longer to get home than she thought. Quickly, she stripped her work clothes, and went to the bathroom. She turned on the water to a hot steam. Full blast. Soon the room was transformed to an invisible fog. The mirror and bright colored towels became hidden. She felt the warmth of the steam touch her body. It always felt so good to wash away the work. The grim that builds up on your skin while you are siting at your computer desk or shuffling along the street.

She knew she didn't have too much time to linger in the shower. She didn't want to keep James waiting. A shiver of desire jolted her body. She washed and let the water cascade down her neck, making a snake like river along her breasts. She smiled at the touch of water. She just knew tonight was going to be perfect.