AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mom? Do you know what time it is?” He laboriously raised his body to a sitting position.
“Of course, I do, dear. Six-thirty. And I’m also aware of what day it is.”
“Is it some type of holiday?” Kenn thought it was too early to play guessing games. But if it were some holiday he forgot and there were no school, then he could lounge in bed a bit longer. Betting it wasn’t a national-close-the-school holiday, he tossed the covers off and began the trek to the kitchen. He knew he would need caffeine to help him deal with this conversation.
“It’s your anniversary.” Kenn pulled a cup out of the cabinet over the coffee pot. He inhaled its robust aroma.
“My anniversary?” He poured his coffee. Oh, yeah, he was going to need this.
“Technically, yours and JJ’s.”
“And what anniversary is that?” Kenn took a satisfying drink.
“It’s been one month since you and she made love.”
Kenn choked on his coffee, coughing loud and long.
“Kenn, are you all right?” He finished coughing, catching his breath long enough to speak.
“Mom, don’t you think that’s rather private information.”
“It’s not like I shared it with my book club or anything.”
“No, but it’s a bit unsettling my mother knows anything about my love life, let alone keeps track of it.”
Before his mom could answer, he continued. “No, let me take that back. It’s eerie.” He clicked the phone off.
****
A month, JJ thought as she turned the engine over in her car. She waited until Alex had backed the compact car out of the garage, then put the gearshift into reverse. After the initial delight of finally succumbing to making love, the month, she mused, had settled into a wonderfully, satisfying loving routine. One she thought she would never experience after the death of her husband.
She rarely spent an entire weekend at home. Either Friday or Saturday night (occasionally both) she spent at Kenn’s. Usually, they shared a quiet dinner they had made together. Some stimulating conversation afterwards, then deep, sensual lovemaking before falling asleep in Kenn’s arms.
The weekdays seemed to be just as fulfilling. The team-taught conspiracy course was a success beyond anyone’s expectations. Not only were the students fully engaged in constructive, lively discussion, but Kenn respected her openness. While he didn’t always agree with her conclusions, she knew he had come to admire her meticulous research. He respected her intellectually. Quite a turnaround from their first encounter.
And, JJ mused as she entered the faculty parking lot, there were those delightful lunches and cappuccino breaks at the Physics Café. They talked about anything—from news to office gossip, to quantum physics to spiritual matters.
The finishing touch of her life, though, was the ability to make time to work on her novel. She had developed a theory of her own regarding the return of Alex and Blake to the pages of their own book. She could only pray her theory worked. As much as she loved them, she knew they didn’t belong in her world. And she knew Alex wouldn’t find her true happiness until she was back in the pages of her own story.
****
As Kenn drove to campus, he had to admit the month had flown by in an amazingly satisfying way, even though it was disturbing that his mother was the one who pointed it out to him.
He had once thought he would never recover from the blow of his breaking up with Rain. He knew, though, when he saw JJ in the bookstore that day, she could be the one to change all that. He couldn’t readily pin down his exact need to find his true love. He was only beginning to understand the implications of the term from reading his girlfriend’s novels. He recalled the first impression he made on her: that of a pompous ass. Heck, how could it have been anything else?
He was relieved when through some amazing coincidences he was able to correct the situation.Okay, so it wasn’t the second impression at Rob and Nan’s that changed her mind. Nor was it the third.
Oh, please, he finally thought.I’m one lucky pompous ass that she even gave me a chance.
It’s now been a month of utter perfection. Who saw that coming?
****
Blake thought Alex was unusually quiet on the way to the campus that morning. No talk of the cheerleaders or of her psych class. He wondered what she was thinking about. After all, her determination had paid off. JJ and Kenn were a couple.
“Okay.” Alex finally broke the stillness of the ride. He was about to learn what was on her mind. “I’m beginning to worry about my latest theory on returning home.”
“Why’s that?” He looked at her. “And, by the way, what is your latest theory?”
