Post by Tammy on Aug 17, 2006 11:35:50 GMT -5
John and I are walking through the park in silence when John suddenly speaks up. “So, are you going to start asking or am I?” I wasn’t sure how to start this so I decided to let him. “Well… why don’t you start.” John nodded, “Okay, but I have one rule. We have to be totally honest in our answers, deal?” “That sounds like a fair enough rule. Are there… any topics that we are calling off limits?” John immediately shook his head no. “No… I am an open book. How about you, any topic that you want to avoid?” I look away for a moment and then hesitantly shook my head no. John takes a deep breath and then began to ask his question. “Hmm okay, lets see. What is… your favorite holiday and why?” I laugh slightly, “Ha that is an easy one… 4th of July. That is my favorite because there is no holiday pretense. There are no fake smiles planted on peoples faces, or pretending to be happy at family gatherings, there is no shopping for people that you don’t even talk to most of the time. 4th of July is just a… day to be happy.” I finished with a smile on my face and I look over at John who is smiling and nodding his head. “Okay John… same question for you. Favorite holiday and why?” “Hmmm… I would have to say, New Years! I say that because it is a holiday, were at the end of the day… you have so much to look forward too. You can forget the mistakes you made and the struggles you had to over come in the previous 365 days. I like it the most because it is a day of… new beginnings.” He smiled at me when he finished and then took a deep breath and continued with the next question.
~~~~
We have been talking and asking questions for about an hour now. We have stopped to sit on a bench. As we sit there I prepare to ask my next question. “Okay John… what do you think people like the most about you?” John gave a snort, “That is easy… people LOVE my hot body!” I started laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. John looked at me with a smirk on his face, “What may I ask, is so funny Marlena?” I finally catch my breath. “Nothing is funny… I was just wondering. Does your back hurt from kissing your own ass like that?” We both started laughing and then after a minute I continued. “Now come on John… we said that we would be truthful. Not that I am saying that people don’t just LOVE your… hot bod… but I am sure not everyone thinks that is your best quality.” John took a deep breath, “Alright, Alright you caught me. Okay I would have to say… my loyalty to things and people I care about. There isn’t anything that I wont do for someone that I care about.” I just stare at him for a moment. He is so sincere when he is talking about the things and people that he cares about. I am brought out of my thoughts when I finally hear him asking his next question, “I’m sorry John… what did you say?” “I said that it’s my turn. Okay everyone who knows you already knows what your best qualities are… so… what do you think is one of your worst qualities?” I sigh deeply, “I only get to pick one… there are so many to choose from. I would have to say… my trust issues. I have a very hard time trusting people.” John shook his head,” I don’t see how that is a bad thing. There are a lot of people who are TOO trusting.” I get up and walk away from the bench. I look up at the stars and breath the night air deeply. I really don’t want to get into this topic of conversation. But then again, I started this game, I guess I have to play by the rules. “Normally that would be true John but many people would say that I take untrusting to a whole new level. My family is very dysfunctional and the things the say and do… have caused me to build walls around my heart.” I can’t believe that I am talking about this. I never talk about my family to anyone, what makes John so special? Why do I feel like I can confide in him? I am startled when John walks up behind me and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Marlena… we don’t have to talk about this. I can see that it isn’t a very good topic for you.” I turn around and face him and gently lay my hand upon his cheek. He is looking right into my eyes with so much concern that it brings a tear to my eye. “John it’s okay really. I get the feeling that my nephews and your daughter are going to be spending a lot of time together… so I guess you should know more about me. That is if you want too?” John nodded at me excitedly. “I would love to know anything and everything there is to know about the future Dr. Marlena Evans. And you have my word… what ever you tell me will go no further.” I appreciate John’s kind words, which I can tell that he means. “Thank you for that John. Well then lets take a seat over on this bench so I can tell you the sorted life story of Marlena Evans.”
~~~~
Marlena and I have been sitting here for about a half an hour. She has been telling me the things that have happened in her life that have made her who she is. I have tried my best not to interrupt her while she is talking. Truth is I already knew a lot of these things from Bo. But it is nice that Marlena trusted me enough to tell me these things herself. I come out of my thoughts to find that Marlena has finished speaking and she is just staring at me. “I am sorry Marlena. I was just thinking…” She looks at me and smiles, “What were you thinking about? “ I sighed deeply, “I was just think that it is a shame how we let others destroy our faith and trust. Marlena can I say something to you… with out you getting offended?” Marlena giggles a bit, “Umm sure I guess so.” I stand from the bench and pace back and forth thinking of how I can say what I want to say. “Well… first I want you to know that I totally understand why you feel the need to keep people at arms length. I mean growing up with a bunch of ass’s who broke your heart and your faith every chance they got. Oh… I am sorry that was uncalled for.” She smiled at me, “Actually it was quite accurate. Please go on.” “I am just saying that… you shouldn’t let your past dictate your future. You can’t go through life thinking that everyone you meet will one day let you down. If you live like that you will be missing out on so much. You will be missing out on great friendships… hell who knows… you could be shutting out the love of your life!” Marlena looks away briefly and then looks back at me with tears in her eyes, “John… I understand what you are saying… it’s just easier said than done. How can I open myself up to someone and give them the opportunity to crush my faith and trust all over again.” I kneel down in front of Marlena and wipe away a stray tear with the pad of my thumb. “Believe me Marlena I know that it won’t be easy, but I think you really should try. You have to let yourself believe that not everyone is like your family. Every person you meet, won’t break your heart!” I stare into her eyes for a moment and she gives me a small nod. I stand back up and glance at my watch, “Wow…it’s getting pretty late. You think we should get going?” Marlena looks at her watch, “Oh my… it is VERY late. We should get going or we are never going to be up in time to go and have breakfast with the kids over at the pub.” We gather our things and start walking back to the car when I break the silence, “So… we have time for one more question each.” Marlena nods her head, “Okay it’s my turn first. John…what is your idea of the perfect evening?” I laughed, “Oh… that is sooo easy. My idea of the perfect evening is staying home and spending time with Maria. I always envisioned that we would have dinner, which would include all of her favorite foods… which are things like hot dogs and French fries. And then we would camp out in front of the TV on a bed made of pillows and watch some of our favorite movies. We would have tickle fights and pillow fights. It would just be… a night of fun!” Marlena looked at me with her mouth agape. “What?” She looked at me and shook her head, “Nothing… I just… that was not at all what I thought you would say. You are certainly full of surprises.” I just laughed at her and nodded my head. “Yes… I am just one big conundrum.” That made her give out a hearty laugh. “Okay then Marlena… same question for you. What is your idea of the perfect evening?” Marlena raised her fingers to her lips. I could tell that she was giving my question some thought. “Let’s see… my perfect evening. I would want it to be filled with things that I never expected. You know… things that I never thought that I would ever get to do. Like flying off to another country for dinner. Or going for a walk and stopping and dancing under the stars. Or taking a carriage ride through a park. It would just be a night full of surprises and romance.” Now it was my turn to stare at her in disbelief. She looked at me and started laughing, “I take it that I surprised you with my answer?” I just nodded, “Ummm yeah you could say that. So you would want a night if surprises? This coming from the woman who hates surprises?” Marlena giggled, “Well… not all surprises are bad I suppose.” Marlena and I just laughed and continued our walk back to the car in a comfortable silence.
~~~~
John and I finally arrive at my house. We walk up to the door and he takes my keys to unlock it. He walks in ahead of me. He looked around the room as if he was scouting it out for any dangers that might await me. After a moment he turns to look at me., “Well the coast is clear. No father in site, so I guess you wont be getting the third degree.” I just laughed at him, “Well… thank god for small miracles.” John turned and headed back to the door to leave and I escorted him. He paused once outside the door and turned back to look at me. He is so unbelievable handsome, and his eyes have such a bright sparkle to them. I smile at him, “John I had a really wonderful time tonight. I haven’t had such a good time in… years! Thank you!” He took my hand in his and kissed it which made my breath catch in my throat. “No need to thank me Marlena, besides you are the one who invited me out. I should be thanking you. I had and absolutely wonderful time.” We both stood their in silence with such goofy grins on our faces. Neither one of us knowing what to say next. Then suddenly I noticed John’s face approaching me slowly. Oh my lord… he is going to kiss me. I know it. I can feel my heart pounding so hard it feels like it is going to explode. John’s face approached mine, and he is about to kiss me. When all of a sudden he pauses and kisses me on my cheek instead. It wasn’t the contact that I was expecting… but it still sent a bolt of electricity running through me. I found myself closing my eyes and cherishing the brief contact. Then suddenly he pulled away and his words brought me out of my fog. “Well Doc… until we meet again. Which should be… in about five hours… when we meet the kids for breakfast at the pub.” He said while laughing. I couldn’t form a coherent sentence, my mind was still reeling from that little peck on the cheek that he gave me. So I just nodded and said, “I’ll be there!” With that John smiled and walked away, leaving me to stand here and melt into a puddle, from that one simply kiss on the cheek.
~~~~
We have been talking and asking questions for about an hour now. We have stopped to sit on a bench. As we sit there I prepare to ask my next question. “Okay John… what do you think people like the most about you?” John gave a snort, “That is easy… people LOVE my hot body!” I started laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. John looked at me with a smirk on his face, “What may I ask, is so funny Marlena?” I finally catch my breath. “Nothing is funny… I was just wondering. Does your back hurt from kissing your own ass like that?” We both started laughing and then after a minute I continued. “Now come on John… we said that we would be truthful. Not that I am saying that people don’t just LOVE your… hot bod… but I am sure not everyone thinks that is your best quality.” John took a deep breath, “Alright, Alright you caught me. Okay I would have to say… my loyalty to things and people I care about. There isn’t anything that I wont do for someone that I care about.” I just stare at him for a moment. He is so sincere when he is talking about the things and people that he cares about. I am brought out of my thoughts when I finally hear him asking his next question, “I’m sorry John… what did you say?” “I said that it’s my turn. Okay everyone who knows you already knows what your best qualities are… so… what do you think is one of your worst qualities?” I sigh deeply, “I only get to pick one… there are so many to choose from. I would have to say… my trust issues. I have a very hard time trusting people.” John shook his head,” I don’t see how that is a bad thing. There are a lot of people who are TOO trusting.” I get up and walk away from the bench. I look up at the stars and breath the night air deeply. I really don’t want to get into this topic of conversation. But then again, I started this game, I guess I have to play by the rules. “Normally that would be true John but many people would say that I take untrusting to a whole new level. My family is very dysfunctional and the things the say and do… have caused me to build walls around my heart.” I can’t believe that I am talking about this. I never talk about my family to anyone, what makes John so special? Why do I feel like I can confide in him? I am startled when John walks up behind me and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Marlena… we don’t have to talk about this. I can see that it isn’t a very good topic for you.” I turn around and face him and gently lay my hand upon his cheek. He is looking right into my eyes with so much concern that it brings a tear to my eye. “John it’s okay really. I get the feeling that my nephews and your daughter are going to be spending a lot of time together… so I guess you should know more about me. That is if you want too?” John nodded at me excitedly. “I would love to know anything and everything there is to know about the future Dr. Marlena Evans. And you have my word… what ever you tell me will go no further.” I appreciate John’s kind words, which I can tell that he means. “Thank you for that John. Well then lets take a seat over on this bench so I can tell you the sorted life story of Marlena Evans.”
~~~~
Marlena and I have been sitting here for about a half an hour. She has been telling me the things that have happened in her life that have made her who she is. I have tried my best not to interrupt her while she is talking. Truth is I already knew a lot of these things from Bo. But it is nice that Marlena trusted me enough to tell me these things herself. I come out of my thoughts to find that Marlena has finished speaking and she is just staring at me. “I am sorry Marlena. I was just thinking…” She looks at me and smiles, “What were you thinking about? “ I sighed deeply, “I was just think that it is a shame how we let others destroy our faith and trust. Marlena can I say something to you… with out you getting offended?” Marlena giggles a bit, “Umm sure I guess so.” I stand from the bench and pace back and forth thinking of how I can say what I want to say. “Well… first I want you to know that I totally understand why you feel the need to keep people at arms length. I mean growing up with a bunch of ass’s who broke your heart and your faith every chance they got. Oh… I am sorry that was uncalled for.” She smiled at me, “Actually it was quite accurate. Please go on.” “I am just saying that… you shouldn’t let your past dictate your future. You can’t go through life thinking that everyone you meet will one day let you down. If you live like that you will be missing out on so much. You will be missing out on great friendships… hell who knows… you could be shutting out the love of your life!” Marlena looks away briefly and then looks back at me with tears in her eyes, “John… I understand what you are saying… it’s just easier said than done. How can I open myself up to someone and give them the opportunity to crush my faith and trust all over again.” I kneel down in front of Marlena and wipe away a stray tear with the pad of my thumb. “Believe me Marlena I know that it won’t be easy, but I think you really should try. You have to let yourself believe that not everyone is like your family. Every person you meet, won’t break your heart!” I stare into her eyes for a moment and she gives me a small nod. I stand back up and glance at my watch, “Wow…it’s getting pretty late. You think we should get going?” Marlena looks at her watch, “Oh my… it is VERY late. We should get going or we are never going to be up in time to go and have breakfast with the kids over at the pub.” We gather our things and start walking back to the car when I break the silence, “So… we have time for one more question each.” Marlena nods her head, “Okay it’s my turn first. John…what is your idea of the perfect evening?” I laughed, “Oh… that is sooo easy. My idea of the perfect evening is staying home and spending time with Maria. I always envisioned that we would have dinner, which would include all of her favorite foods… which are things like hot dogs and French fries. And then we would camp out in front of the TV on a bed made of pillows and watch some of our favorite movies. We would have tickle fights and pillow fights. It would just be… a night of fun!” Marlena looked at me with her mouth agape. “What?” She looked at me and shook her head, “Nothing… I just… that was not at all what I thought you would say. You are certainly full of surprises.” I just laughed at her and nodded my head. “Yes… I am just one big conundrum.” That made her give out a hearty laugh. “Okay then Marlena… same question for you. What is your idea of the perfect evening?” Marlena raised her fingers to her lips. I could tell that she was giving my question some thought. “Let’s see… my perfect evening. I would want it to be filled with things that I never expected. You know… things that I never thought that I would ever get to do. Like flying off to another country for dinner. Or going for a walk and stopping and dancing under the stars. Or taking a carriage ride through a park. It would just be a night full of surprises and romance.” Now it was my turn to stare at her in disbelief. She looked at me and started laughing, “I take it that I surprised you with my answer?” I just nodded, “Ummm yeah you could say that. So you would want a night if surprises? This coming from the woman who hates surprises?” Marlena giggled, “Well… not all surprises are bad I suppose.” Marlena and I just laughed and continued our walk back to the car in a comfortable silence.
~~~~
John and I finally arrive at my house. We walk up to the door and he takes my keys to unlock it. He walks in ahead of me. He looked around the room as if he was scouting it out for any dangers that might await me. After a moment he turns to look at me., “Well the coast is clear. No father in site, so I guess you wont be getting the third degree.” I just laughed at him, “Well… thank god for small miracles.” John turned and headed back to the door to leave and I escorted him. He paused once outside the door and turned back to look at me. He is so unbelievable handsome, and his eyes have such a bright sparkle to them. I smile at him, “John I had a really wonderful time tonight. I haven’t had such a good time in… years! Thank you!” He took my hand in his and kissed it which made my breath catch in my throat. “No need to thank me Marlena, besides you are the one who invited me out. I should be thanking you. I had and absolutely wonderful time.” We both stood their in silence with such goofy grins on our faces. Neither one of us knowing what to say next. Then suddenly I noticed John’s face approaching me slowly. Oh my lord… he is going to kiss me. I know it. I can feel my heart pounding so hard it feels like it is going to explode. John’s face approached mine, and he is about to kiss me. When all of a sudden he pauses and kisses me on my cheek instead. It wasn’t the contact that I was expecting… but it still sent a bolt of electricity running through me. I found myself closing my eyes and cherishing the brief contact. Then suddenly he pulled away and his words brought me out of my fog. “Well Doc… until we meet again. Which should be… in about five hours… when we meet the kids for breakfast at the pub.” He said while laughing. I couldn’t form a coherent sentence, my mind was still reeling from that little peck on the cheek that he gave me. So I just nodded and said, “I’ll be there!” With that John smiled and walked away, leaving me to stand here and melt into a puddle, from that one simply kiss on the cheek.
