Kiss Me Goodbye (standard:romance, 11439 words)
Author: Kirk	Added: Jun 17 2006	Views/Reads: 3274/2248	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A very painful breakup nearly keeps this young man from finding true love.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

"Yes!" both replied, as a gust blew their hair all over their faces. 

"Hum..." He unlocked all the doors for them and they jumped in the back.
Starting the car, he turned to look at them over his shoulder and said, 
"You know if you weren't checking out strangers, you wouldn't be in 
this spot." 

"You're not a stranger," said Lisa. "You're the guy I hit on the back of
the head with a book." 

"Hum...Where am I taking you?" he asked. 

They told him. 

"Okay. I'm Jack, by the way." 

"I'm Denise!" she said, bouncing up and down in the seat. 

"I'm Lisa," his assailant said quite calmly. 

"My friend says that you're new here. Is that true?" asked Jack. 

"Yeah, my Mom's a nurse. The hospital in Ohio she worked at closed down
and the remaining hospitals in the area weren't hiring. My Dad died 
last year and she needed a job, so she looked out of town for a 
position. My sister moved out here years ago and told my mom about some 
openings out this way. She got a job and we moved here. At least I get 
to see my sister and her kid more often," Lisa explained. 

"Sorry about your Dad," Jack said looking in his rear view mirror, not
knowing what else to say. 

Lisa shook her head, "Don't worry about it. He didn't suffer. Forget I
said anything." 

He decided to change the subject. "So, what does your sister do out
here?" 

"She teaches kindergarten. Her husband teaches high school math. They
just became grandparents too." 

'What?' Jack thought to himself and looked at her in the rear view
mirror. 

"Yep, I'm a great aunt, can you believe that?" 

The back of his head was hurting again. "I'm not sure I'm following
this." 

"My sister is forty four years old. Her daughter, my niece, just had a
baby girl. That makes my mom a great grandmother and me a great aunt. 
Neat, huh?" smiled Lisa. 

Jack shook his head slightly, not sure he understood all this. 

Lisa leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "I'm a 'Whoops' kid." 

Jack knew what that meant. He had a friend that graduated with him last
year who was the youngest of his siblings. When he talked to him last 
week, he told him his fifty-year-old mother was having another baby. 
The word 'Whoops' came up a few times in the conversation. 

Jack nodded and directed his attention the other way. "What's your
story?" he asked, looking at Denise in the rear view mirror. 

"I don't know," Denise answered, while giggling and bouncing up and
down. 

'Oh, brother' Jack thought to himself. 

He reached their houses and let them out. 

"Nice meeting you", both the girls said, as they waved and he drove
away. 

"He was really nice!" chirped Denise. 

"Yeah, he was kind of cute too. Look, I got his name and phone number!"
said Lisa. 

"How did you do that?" 

"It was on his trombone case," she answered, all proud of herself. 

"Call me," said Denise, as she headed across the street to her house. 

Lisa liked Jack, but there seemed to be some kind of dark cloud hanging
over him. She folded the note and stuck it in her pocket. She might 
have need of it sometime. 

* * * 

That sometime was about 6:30 that evening. Jack was finishing the dinner
his Mom made for him and his Father. She was a part time secretary for 
a real estate agency and his Dad worked for the steel mill. Both were 
hard workers and after 30 years of marriage they still enjoyed each 
other's company and loved doing things together. The phone rang and 
Jack's Mom answered it. 

"It's for you," she said, reaching it out to Jack. "It's a girl," she
said, giggling to his Dad. 

"Hello," said Jack. 

"Hi! Jack, this is Lisa." 

The back of Jack's head started to hurt again. "Yes?" 

"I want to know if you'll do me a favor," she asked. 

"Well, what is it?" 

"Tell me if you'll do it first," she said. 

Jack put his hand over the receiver. "Hey, some girl I met today wants
to know if I'll do her a favor without telling me what it is." 

His Dad made a slam-dunk motion with his hand indicating he should hang
up. His Mom gave him thumbs up indicating he should do it. 

"Okay, I'll bite. What do you want me to do?" he asked as his Dad
groaned across the room. 

"I need you to take me to the mall so I can buy gifts before the holiday
hits. It's seven days away and I'm empty handed," she replied. "Please, 
Jack. I'll give you gas money." 

"Okay, be ready by 7:00. We're going to have to park on the far side of
the mall this close to the holiday, so wear something warm for the 
walk." 

"Thanks, Jack. I knew you were a great guy," she said, as she hung up. 

"So, what was that about?" asked Mom. 

"She wants me to take her to the mall." 

"I would have hung up," said Dad. 

"Yes, dear, we know what you would have done," said Mom, as she gave him
a peck on the forehead. 

Jack's Mom was glad to see him going out. Since he had broken up with
Holly earlier that year, all he did was work or go to college. She knew 
that they had become serious, but she hadn't really found out what 
ended the relationship. It had been ongoing for almost 3 years when 
suddenly, without any warning of trouble, he came home in a major huff 
and never spoke her name again. Jack's Father wanted the best for his 
boy. He too could tell that Holly had seriously hurt his son. He felt 
it was a shame, because they seemed so good for each other. He liked 
Holly too. If it wasn't meant to be then that's it. Life moves on. 

Right now he had serious doubts that Jack should get in another
relationship. He definitely did not approve of girls calling guys 
houses looking for a date. Still, his son needed something to get 
himself back in the flow and maybe this would help. 

* * * 

Lisa was seated at her make-up table in her room. On it sat an arsenal
of cosmetic paraphernalia and supplies. She always wanted to look her 
best when she went out. Tonight would be no exception. She was through 
tweezing her eyebrows and was now applying several layers of 
foundation. 

She couldn't believe that her Mother was forced to work a double shift
this close to Christmas. This was the only time before the Day itself 
that she was on the day shift. Denise's Mother wasn't home and none of 
her friends drove. Lisa was proud of herself that she thought of 
writing down Jack's number right away. Normally, she wouldn't have 
asked him, but she was out of options, besides, he seemed okay and he 
was cute. 

She finished applying mascara on her baby blues and chose a flaming red
lipstick. Lisa had pale skin and pouty lips and the red set off her 
entire face. When she was done, she pulled out her brush and tried to 
tame her long, light brown, wavy hair. She gave up and tied it high on 
her head with a ribbon as red as her lipstick. She made one final check 
on her appearance and headed to the living room. It was 6:55. She 
picked up the phone to call Denise to see if she was ready. As the 
phone started to ring, there was a knock on the door. Lisa answered it 
with the phone still on her ear. Denise was standing there making goofy 
faces. Lisa hung up, put on her maxi coat and went outside. 

"I can't believe Jack is taking us!" cheered Denise, hopping up and
down. 

"How much coffee did you drink today?" asked Lisa. 

"None," replied Denise. 

"Could have fooled me," muttered Lisa. 

* * * 

This was actually one of the last things Jack wanted to do tonight. He
wasn't comfortable with the girls in his car earlier and he was now 
even less comfortable about picking up this Lisa again. He knew he 
wasn't ready for any contact with girls while the hurt was still there. 
He had no intention of being hurt like that again. 

He was on the girl's street, slowly making his way down while on the
lookout for the house that he had seen earlier. He caught sight of two 
girls standing at the bottom of a driveway. Well, one of them was 
standing and the other was jumping up and down. The back of his head 
started to hurt as he pulled up to them. Denise opened the front 
passenger's door and jumped in. Lisa got in the back. 

"Hi!" said Denise as she jumped up and down in her seat. 

Jack turned to look at Lisa in the back. She waved to him. 

"Sorry. I forgot to tell you that Denise needed a ride too." 

Without saying a word, Jack threw it in gear and pulled away. As he
drove, every time he needed to use the rearview mirror, he noticed that 
Lisa was looking at him. He became a bit self-conscious. He was glad 
when they finally reached the mall and found a parking spot. The spot 
itself was a long way from the actual mall, but at least they were in 
the lot. The temperature had dropped dramatically that evening and the 
wind was no longer just a nuisance as it was now impossible to ignore. 
They hurried as quickly as they could to get to the entrance. 

Inside the mall, they found themselves among thousands of holiday
shoppers. 

Trying to decide where to go was fruitless. You had to go with the flow
of humanity as it hurried up and down the hallway. If you were lucky, 
you could duck into a store that you wanted to shop, if not, you had to 
wait until the next trip around. They managed to enter a women's 
clothing shop. The girls milled around a bit. Jack found himself 
looking at sweaters for his Mother and found one he thought she would 
like. They'd been in the mall for a while now and Jack found himself 
getting warm. He took off his heavy coat and decided to look for the 
girls. He found Denise and noticed several pieces of clothing in a 
basket. Some looked expensive. He hoped she wasn't thinking of stealing 
them. He looked for Lisa. 

As he turned the corner around two rows of dresses, he bumped right into
her. Lisa had also taken her coat off and had it draped over an arm. In 
the collision, it fell to the floor. She just looked at him. 

Jack's mouth opened slightly and he gasped as he got his first real look
at her. 

Her face was pale except where the wind had turned her cheeks red. Her
eyes were the bluest he'd ever seen and her mouth was small with bright 
red painted puffy lips. The top of her head came up to his eyebrows and 
he could smell the scent of her shampoo. 

Strawberries. 

Lisa wasn't heavy, but was no lightweight either. Her upper arms were a
bit chunky and overall she looked like she still had her baby fat. On 
her it looked good. 

She was wearing very high heeled boots covered by bell bottomed jeans
that appeared that she had poured herself into. She also wore a 
horizontally striped knit shirt that stretched around the largest 
gravity defying pair of breasts he had ever seen. 

He immediately blushed. Having blonde hair and fair skin, he knew he
probably looked like Rudolph's nose. 

"Whoops, sorry," she said, noticing the red in his face. As she reached
down to pick up her coat, Jack turned away to keep from embarrassing 
himself any further, willing the blush from his face. 

Lisa thought it was kind of funny that he reacted like that. She knew
she looked good, yet he acted like he wanted to get away from her. She 
wanted him to look more. "Jack! Could you hold my coat for me?" she 
asked, nicely. 

Jack stopped in his tracks. He turned and held his hand out. She draped
her coat slowly over his arm, allowing him a long close-up look at her. 
His faced turned even a brighter shade of red. 

'I guess that got his attention' she thought and then noticed he was
sweating. She reached up with a perfectly manicured hand and pushed the 
hair off his forehead that was beginning to stick from the sweat. 

Jack was ready to have a fit. No girl had touched him since Holly half a
year ago. He found himself backing away from her. "Is there something 
wrong?" she asked, batting those baby blues at him. 

"Of course not," Jack said, as he turned to continue to shop. 

'This guy won't even let me come on to him. I think I've found a
challenge,' she thought. 

The rest of the shopping trip consisted of a few more stops. Jack was
relieved to find that Denise had a wad of cash that her Mother had 
given her. They finished their shopping by 10:30 and were on their way 
back to the car. About three quarters of the way Lisa faked coming up 
lame and asked Jack to help her to the car. He put his arm around her 
waist and held her tightly for support. When they reached the car, she 
hopped on one foot as Jack opened the doors for them. Denise got in the 
back this time, and Lisa sat next to him in the front. On the ride 
home, Lisa thanked him several times for the ride, and wanted to know 
if he still wanted money for gas. He refused to accept it. 

When they arrived on the girl's street, Lisa noticed that her Mother
wasn't home yet. "Could you help me to the door, Jack?" she asked. 

He said nothing. He got out of the car and went around to her door. He
opened it and helped her out. Denise was already on her way to her 
house. She was waving and thanking Jack as she went. He put his arm 
around Lisa's waist and helped her to the door. When he got her there, 
she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. She 
kissed him on the cheek and said, "Call Me." She unlocked the door and 
went in. She blew a kiss to him and closed the door. He walked back to 
the car. After starting it, he turned the dome light on and looked at 
the note. 

'Thank you, my Knight in Shining Armor! 555-9869. Call me anytime!
Lisa.' He stuck the note in his pocket and drove home. 

* * * 

Lisa was lying in bed replaying the events of the day in her head. 

She couldn't believe her incredible luck at meeting this great guy. He
was good looking and a gentleman too. He was nothing like her last 
boyfriend out in Ohio. Lee was a first class jerk. All he ever wanted 
to do was grope her, even in public. He spent the rest of the time 
insulting her in front of her friends. She was glad that she made new 
friends here. But most especially she was thrilled that she'd met Jack. 
She started working on a plan to capture this guy's attention. 

In her mind, he was a real keeper. 

* * * 

It just so happened, that Jack was lying in bed reflecting on his day as
well. 

He was still trying to get over the gorgeous face and incredible body on
this 17-year-old-girl. He knew she hadn't hurt her foot, but he went 
along with it. She was definitely coming on to him; he just wasn't 
ready for that kind of thing. His thoughts turned to Holly. He hadn't 
thought of her in the last few days or so, but this evening's events 
brought her memory clearly back in focus. 

He had loved Holly. There was never any doubt in his mind from the
moment he met her in ninth grade. She was a petite brunette with a 
wonderful smile and big brown eyes. They hit it off right away. They 
went to the school dances together and she played the flute in the 
band. In tenth grade, he had given Holly an opal ring. It set him back 
half a year's allowance. They were known as 'Jack and Holly". Not Jack 
or Holly. 

'Jack and Holly.' 

He could remember vividly the first time he held her hand. She had just
cracked a particularly bad joke and several friends were booing her. 
She started waving her hand in the air to dismiss them and he just 
reached out and grabbed it. She squeezed his hand in return and refused 
to let it go. They stayed that way for over an hour before they had to 
take separate buses home. 

He could remember the first time he kissed her. Not a simple peck on the
cheek, but a real kiss. It was the first for both of them. They were 
alone in the back yard of her parent's house, seated at a picnic table. 
He had come over after school and they stayed out back so if someone 
came home, they wouldn't get in trouble for being inside alone. It was 
his turn to tell a bad joke. Holly moaned and rolled her eyes. Then she 
closed her eyes and leaned across the table and placed her lips against 
his. The kiss was wet and warm. That moment made him realize that she 
had stolen his heart and it was a wonderful feeling. He was 16 and in 
love with the most fantastic girl he had ever met! 

By their senior year, he and Holly had become very serious. She even
talked about getting married after graduation and before college. He 
knew that it was an unrealistic thing to discuss, but they were deeply 
on love. At a point close to graduation, they were alone in his house 
and she asked him to make love to her. He declined, knowing what 
happened to some friends of theirs that had done just that. Most of 
them were never the same and broke up. She assured him that everything 
would be fine. Jack just wasn't ready. 

That was the beginning of the end. 

He knew this Lisa was going to make her presence known sometime in the
future. Either that or he fully misread her tonight. He couldn't let 
her get under his skin. 

He didn't want to be hurt again. 

* * * 

Christmas Eve night, the phone rang. Jack's Mom answered it. 

"Jack, it's for you!" she said. 

He knew exactly who it was. The back of his head was hurting again.
"Hello?" 

"Hi, Jack. It's Lisa. Do you want to come over to my house for a while
and visit with some of my friends? I have to find a way to repay you 
for the other night." 

"There's no need to repay me. Besides, we haven't eaten dinner yet," he
said, looking at his Mother. 

Jack's Mom was giving him the 'go, go, go' wave with her hand. 

"I think I'll stay home with my folks tonight," he said. 

Jack's Mom looked like she was going to have a fit. 

"Yeah, she usually goes all out for Christmas Eve dinner," he lied, as
his Mother started to slam pots and pans around the kitchen in pure 
disgust at her son. 

"On second thought, maybe I will stop by." His Mother stopped the
commotion. "When should I come over?" 

"Now!" she said. "Everybody is already here and I'm getting ready to
make sandwiches for everyone. I'll make whatever kind you want." 

"Okay, I'm on my way," said Jack and hung up the phone. 

"That's better," said his Mom as she kissed him on the head. "Have fun!"


* * * 

Jack knocked at Lisa's door and Denise answered. She started to hop up
and down. 

"Lisa! Guess who's here!" shouted Denise over her shoulder. 

Lisa walked up to the door and opened it for Jack. "Why didn't you let
him in, you dope?" 

"I don't know," answered Denise, as she hopped her way out to the living
room. 

"Hum..." moaned Lisa, as she watched Denise go. 

Jack took a good look at Lisa and hoped that this time he wouldn't
blush. She was perfectly made up again, only this time she was wearing 
pink lipstick. Her wavy hair was flowing down past her shoulders and 
she wore pink nail polish to match her lips. He also noticed that her 
head didn't come up to his chin. Looking down he noticed she was 
wearing slippers instead of heeled boots or shoes. He looked at her 
baby blue eyes and desperately tried not to look down any further at 
the incredibly tight red and green holiday sweater she was wearing. 

"Come on out and meet my friends," she said, as she held his hand and
pulled him out to the living room. There were six new faces. All of 
them were girls and all eyes were on him. Again he felt self-conscious. 
Lisa began introducing him around the room. All the girls looked much 
younger than Lisa and Denise with the exception of Annette. She looked 
older than Jack. 

Annette was a very good-looking girl. She had a killer body and
extremely long strawberry blonde hair. Her face was as cute as they 
get. She stood, put her arms around Jack's neck, and kissed him on the 
lips. "Merry Christmas!" she said as she broke the kiss, but still held 
him around the neck. 

"Down Annette," Lisa said, as she pulled Jack away. 

She led Jack into the kitchen. She could see he was blushing again.
"Annette is a bit friendly. Don't pay her any mind. In case you liked 
what you saw, keep in mind she's only 12." 

"What? You've got to be kidding me," replied a startled Jack. 

"Yep, she fooled me too," she replied. 

"Where did these kids come from?" 

"You know I'm new in town. These are my neighbor's kids. Denise
introduced me to them. Don't worry; we won't do anything to you. You're 
safe," she said, as she chuckled to herself. "What kind of sandwich do 
you want?" she asked, showing him the platter that she had made up. 

"Ham and Swiss with mustard sounds good," he answered after checking out
the possibilities. "Where's your Mother? Does she know you have all 
these people here?" he asked. 

"She's still at work. She'll be home in about 15 minutes actually and
yes she knows about this. She was the one that suggested it." 

"Does she know I'm here? She may not take too kindly of a guy in the
house with her daughter and all these girls." 

"Calm yourself. I asked her yesterday if I could have you over and she
was thrilled. She wants to meet my 'Knight in Shining Armor'." 

'Here we go,' he thought. She handed him the plate with his sandwich on
it and added some coleslaw. They went back out to the living room. 
Annette stood back up. 

"Down girl, he knows all about you," said Lisa. Annette flopped back
down on the couch and frowned. Jack had a seat in an unoccupied chair. 

As he ate, he looked at the nicely decorated tree. On the far wall, he
noticed a piece of furniture that looked like a bar. Lisa was pulling 
on it. It rolled away from the wall and he could see that it was an 
organ. She fired it up. 

She started playing Jingle Bells. Some of the girls sang along with the
music. She switched to playing some more challenging pieces that had 
nothing to do with Christmas. She was pretty good. Jack had an ear for 
musical talent and knew she was well on her way, if she kept up with 
it. She started to sing. 

That broke the spell. 

'Nobody's perfect,' he thought. He heard a voice from the front door. 

"Everybody put your clothes back on! I'm home!" said the voice. 

"Hi Mom! Come on out and meet Jack!" 

Lisa's Mother entered the living room and Jack stood to meet her. They
shook hands and she said, "So, you're Jack. All I've heard the last 
couple of days has been 'Jack this or Jack that'. Nice to meet you." 

"Nice to meet you, too," replied Jack, clearly nervous. Her Mother was
clearly a senior citizen. Even though she had wrinkles and a few liver 
spots, he could tell where Lisa had gotten her figure and her baby 
blues. 

"Well girls, I hope you haven't taken advantage of Jack, have you?"
Lisa's Mom asked. 

"Lisa won't let anyone else near him," complained Annette. 

"I see," she replied, and gave Jack a wink. His nervousness was waning.
Her Mom was okay. Lisa went to the kitchen to make her a plate of food. 


"Elyse told me how you two met. I think it's priceless," she said, as
she smiled. "She's told me about you driving them home and then single 
handedly saving Christmas." 

'Hum... She called her Elyse, not Lisa,' thought Jack as he began to
blush again with the compliments. 

"Here Mom," said Lisa as she handed her a plate and fork. She returned
to the kitchen and brought out a chair for her Mother to sit in. Jack 
was too much of a gentleman to let the owner of the house sit in a 
kitchen chair so he offered her his seat and sat on the kitchen chair 
himself. She thanked him and gave Lisa a wink. Lisa returned an 'I told 
you so' look. 

Lisa went back to pounding out requests from her guests. She wasn't
using any music. She just belted them out on the organ as if she knew 
them all by heart. Now and then she would hit a clunker and her Mother 
would give Jack an elbow and giggle. Lisa would counter by sticking her 
tongue out at them both. 

All in all, it was a great evening. Around 11:00 the girls started to
clean up and get ready to leave. Jack took the hint and did as well. 
All the girls left, with Denise bouncing out the door last. He was at 
the doorway when Lisa's Mom said goodbye and disappeared down a 
hallway. He turned to the door and Lisa was blocking it. 

"Thank you for coming. It meant a lot to me," she said very seriously.
She looked up to him with her big blues and kissed him. She backed away 
and was about to say something else, but thought better of it. Instead, 
she stared into his eyes and tried to will him to like her. 

Jack could tell that her eyes were saying something, but it was a
message he didn't want to receive. 

"Thank you for a great night. Merry Christmas, Lisa," he said, as he
opened the door and left. Lisa stood at the doorway watching him until 
he drove away. She closed the door and found her Mother standing in the 
hallway facing her. 

"Either he is the best actor in the world, or he is the nicest young man
I've ever met. You won't find many like him around anymore. Don't let 
go of him, Elyse, he's a keeper," said her Mom with a nod, and went 
back to her room. 

Lisa had no intentions of letting him get away. 

* * * 

Jack was lying in bed in the dark. He did NOT want to think about Lisa,
correction, 'Elyse'. 

'Her name's Elyse,' he repeated to himself. 

That name seemed to fit her more than the nickname she used with
everyone other than her Mother. 

Elyse. 

What an uncommon and beautiful name. He conjured her face in his mind.
Her lovely blue eyes and angelic smile caused a smile to creep onto his 
lips. 

Wait a minute; he was not going down that road again! Just the thought
of liking a girl made it hurt all over again. Soon college would start 
again. Between that and work, he'd have little time for her, or 
anything else. Her face, with the eyes that were trying to tell him 
something, forced itself back into his thoughts. He took a deep breath 
and steered his mind in a different direction. 

As usual, they landed on Holly, and the memory of their last encounter
was brought back in all its viciousness. 

He got out of bed, went to the living room and plugged the Christmas
tree back in. He sat watching the lights twinkle. He knew he wouldn't 
be sleeping for a while. 

* * * 

Elyse was lying in bed with a huge grin on her face. She never felt like
this about a guy before. Her Mother never liked any of the guys she 
dated, but she was thrilled with Jack. Elyse knew he was going to be 
the best thing that ever happened to her. She could tell that he was 
resisting her advances and she wasn't sure why. He could be just shy, 
but she really didn't believe that. No. Something was bothering him and 
she was going to get to the bottom of it. She was going to help him 
remove whatever the problem was or help him deal with it. It was the 
least she could do for her 'Knight in Shining Armor'. 

* * * 

The day after Christmas, Elyse and Denise spent a few hours making phone
calls to people in the chorus, asking about Jack. It didn't take long 
for Elyse to figure out what was wrong. She actually pitied him without 
even knowing what the break up was about. All she knew was that Holly 
had done something and it broke Jack's heart. No one could say what. 
Whatever happened, it wasn't public knowledge. This dark cloud seemed 
to hang over him at all times. 

She knew it was going to be a major uphill climb, but she either had to
make Jack forget Holly or make him believe that she would never do the 
same to him. She was sure that bringing up her name wasn't a good idea. 
If he brought it up, she might then try to discuss it without further 
damage. Her birthday was New Year's Eve and she was determined to have 
him come over that night and help her celebrate. She didn't want to 
wait that long to see him. 

* * * 

Jack was at work stocking the aisles in a local market. His thoughts
were about how tired he was considering the few hours of sleep he had 
over the last few nights. 

"Jack, you have a call on line 3. Jack you have a call on line 3," said
the PA system. 

'Mom must want some bread and milk when I come home,' he thought. 

He went to the nearest phone and pushed the button for line 3. 

"Hello." 

"Hi, Jack! It's Lisa. How about coming over to my house for dinner
tonight?" 

"Why are you calling me at work?" he said with a low tone. 

"I called your house and your Mom said you were working only till 6
tonight. She said it would be a lovely idea for you to come over." 

'Thanks Mom,' he said to himself. "I don't know Lisa. I don't think I
can take another evening of Denise." 

"Well, she's not invited and if she does hop over, I'll hit her over the
head a few times to slow her down." 

The picture conjured up in his mind was pretty funny. A docile Denise
was as rare as a documented Yeti sighting. 

"I'm sure your Mother doesn't want me hanging around over there. I was
just there the other day," he said, still trying to get out of it. 

"Quite on the contrary, my dear. She is all for it and will be here as
well." 

Jack felt the trap close. He couldn't think of any other excuses and
said, "Okay. I'll be over around 6:30." 

"Great, see you then!" she said, and hung up. 

'Both mothers are in on this now,' he thought. He sighed and went back
to work. 

* * * 

He was knocking on Elyse's door at exactly 6:30. Her Mother answered it.


"Why, hello Jack," she said as she held the door open for him. "Elyse
will be out in a second. She's freshening up a bit. Come on in and have 
a seat." 

Jack walked into the living room and took off his coat. She took it and
hung it in the closet for him. 

"Here I am!" said Elyse as she entered the room before he had a chance
to sit down. 

"I'm going to check on dinner. Oh, by the way, Jack. Since you are an
adult, you can call me by my name. It's Shelly," she said as she 
disappeared into the kitchen. 

Elyse had walked up to him during her Mother's proclamation. When Shelly
left the room, she put her arms around his neck and looked up at him. 
"How are you tonight, Jack?" she asked softly. 

He cleared his throat and pulled her arms away from him, while looking
toward the kitchen. "I'm fine, Lisa. Ah, what's for dinner?" he asked, 
trying to break the spell that her eyes were trying so hard to cast on 
him. 

"I don't know. My Mom's making it for us. Do you want to watch TV until
it's ready?" she asked, still willing him to accept her. She turned it 
on and sat on the couch. He sat next to her. She leaned over and rested 
her head on his chest while they watched F-Troop and Gilligan's Island. 
Somewhere along the line, she had started to caress his chest with her 
hand. He slowly became aware of it and almost knocked her on the floor 
as he jumped to his feet. 

"Are you okay?" Elyse asked. 

"I just have to go to the bathroom," he said, as he hurried down the
hall. Inside the bathroom, Jack was breathing as if he was out of 
breath. He held his hand up in front of himself and saw that it was 
shaking. 

She was getting to him. He didn't want it, but it was happening. He
couldn't hide in here all night. So he decided to do the next best 
thing. When he returned to the living room, Elyse scooted over on the 
sofa to make room for him, but he sat in a chair instead. 

'Problem's solved!' he believed. 

Elyse simply got off the sofa, walked over to him and sat in his lap.
She put her arm around his shoulders and started to play with his hair. 


'Problem's NOT solved! Problem's WORSE!' he thought worriedly. 

"I just love your hair," she said, running her perfectly manicured
fingers though it. 

Shelly came in the room. "Okay you two, dinner's ready." 

'Thank God,' thought Jack. 

'Crap!' thought Elyse. 

They went into the dining room and Shelly had a feast on the table. It
was a nervous dinner for Jack with both Elyse and Shelly looking at 
him. Shelly did all the talking and Jack found her to be a lot like his 
Mother. She was funny and seemed to have an opinion on everything. When 
dinner was over, Shelly excused herself for the night, leaving Jack and 
Elyse all alone. Elyse was ecstatic; Jack was having a fit. 

"Well, I guess I should be leaving," Jack said, giving it a shot. 

"It's only 8:00. Unless you have a curfew, you're not going anywhere
yet. You don't eat and run in our house," responded Elyse. 

The TV was still playing when she led him back to the living room. She
pushed him down into the sofa and plopped herself on his lap. She 
wrapped her arms around his neck and looked him in the eyes. 

'Oh crap,' he thought. 'Here we go again.' He closed his eyes and took a
deep breath. When he opened them she was sticking her tongue out at him 
and making a goofy face. 

When he started to laugh with relief, she smothered his mouth with hers.
Her breasts were pressed hard into his chest. She refused to come up 
for air and held her mouth against his. Not knowing what to do with his 
arms, he finally put them around her. She responded by kissing him with 
even more passion. He found her to be soft and warm. 

They were startled by a noise behind them. 

"Sorry about that. I forgot my glasses," said Shelly. "Carry on," she
said, as she turned and walked away. 

Elyse looked back at Jack and giggled. "So, what did you like better,
this," she kissed him softly again, "or dinner?" 

"Your Mom really made a great dinner," said Jack. 

She hopped off his lap and stood before him with her hands on her hips.
"Okay, wise guy. My birthday is on New Year's Eve. It's my 18th. I want 
you to come over to celebrate with me. My Mom is going out that night 
so it will be just you and me, unless you want to invite Annette." 

Jack wasn't sure if he was safe with Shelly in the house. Without her,
he wasn't sure just how out of control it might get. His immediate 
response should have been no. Instead he said, "That would be great." 

A voice screamed in his head. 'That would be great? That would be great?
What's wrong with you? Run! Run as far as you can! Get out before you 
get yourself in so deep there is no escape!' 

Elyse sat back down in his lap and started to kiss him again. They did
so until well after 11:00. 

* * * 

Jack was lying in bed staring at the ceiling in the dark. Tonight was a
disaster. How could he let himself open the door again? Yes, she was a 
good-looking girl, but that doesn't mean anything at all. Yes, she 
really seemed to like him. Yes, Shelly even seemed to think highly of 
him. Yes, he really liked her. 

Wait a minute. 

No! No he didn't like her! 

Oh no! It's too late! Yes he DID! Oh no. Oh no. Oh no! 

* * * 

Elyse was lying in bed smiling in the dark. She almost has him! Any
doubt in his mind that she was the right girl for him will be 
eliminated on her birthday. She was going to pull out all the stops. 
Short of taking him to bed, she was going to show him that not every 
girl was a Holly. She had no intentions of hurting Jack ever! 

* * * 

Before he left work on New Year's Eve, Jack called Elyse's house. 

"Hello," answered Elyse. 

"Elyse, is there anything you want me to bring with to eat tonight?" 

Jack got silence. 

"Hello?" 

"You just called me Elyse. No one calls me that except my family. You
just caught me off guard." 

"I'm sorry, it just slipped out. I think it's a nice name and I think of
you that way. I'll call you Lisa." 

"No! I'm thrilled you called me that. Please call me Elyse from now on."


"Okay, Elyse, do I need to bring anything?" 

"Fritos and dip," she replied. 

"Okay, see you around 8:00," Jack said, and hung up. 

He found himself actually excited about going. He had gone shopping
after work the night before for a gift for her, taking advantage of the 
after Christmas sales. He found a pretty pink blouse with a lot of lace 
and frills. The question about it was whether it was going to fit. Jack 
had no clue about girl's sizes. He left the tags on just in case. 

* * * 

As Jack was arriving at Elyse's house, Shelly was getting ready to go
out. 

"Now, I want you two to be careful. I know you're both 18 now so I'm not
going to make a speech. Whatever you do, do it smartly. Use your 
heads," she said, and went out the door. 

'She really expects something to happen here tonight,' thought Jack. 

When Elyse was finished hanging up his coat he gave her the gift. She
gave him the 'You shouldn't have' look and opened the package. 

"Oh, this is so beautiful, Jack!" she said holding the blouse up. "I
can't wait to try it on!" She looked at the size tag and frowned at 
bit. 

"If it's the wrong size, I left the tags on for you to exchange it," he
said. 

"No, it should be okay," she said and led him out to the living room.
She didn't wait for them to sit down. She planted a wet kiss on Jack 
right away. It lasted nearly half an hour. Finally she said, "Have a 
seat, I'll be right back out." 

Jack sat on the couch and watched 'Gunsmoke'. When Elyse returned she
didn't seem any different, except that she now had a zipper front 
sweater on where she had a pull over on before. She sat down next to 
him and snuggled next to him as they watched Marshal Dillon and Kitty. 
At 9:00, 'Here's Lucy' came on. Elyse was caressing his chest again. 
This time he didn't jump. Instead he bowed his head and kissed her on 
the head. She looked up at him and kissed him with open lips. He felt 
her tongue trace his lips and search his mouth for his own tongue. Her 
kiss was as sweet as honey. He knew he had lost at this point. He was 
no longer able to resist her and allowed himself to revel in her sweet 
presence. She sensed the change in him too. 

At that moment, she knew she and only she was in his thoughts. Holly was
nowhere to be found. She felt his hand reach under her breasts to hold 
her side. Lee would have been trying to rip her top off and shoving her 
hand in his crotch at this point. But this 'Knight in Shining Armor' 
was holding her tenderly as they kissed. The passion was starting to 
well up in her and she had to break off before she went too far. 

Jack was in a daze. He wanted more, but was also glad for the respite.
Things needed to calm down. He glanced at the TV. "Oh, look! 'Medical 
Center'!" he said. Elyse didn't look. She was too busy looking him in 
the eyes, trying to tell him what she didn't dare say. 

Jack tried to remember that he had just met this girl a little over a
week ago. Yet he had the feeling that he had always known her. There 
was still a part of him that was fighting deep down inside him. He 
would have to deal with it soon or this beautiful creature would be out 
of his life as well. He shoved that nagging doubt aside for the moment 
and returned all his attention to Elyse who was stroking the side of 
his face. 

They kissed and held each other well into the New Year. As he was
leaving, Elyse stopped him at the door. 

"I didn't get to show you the present you gave me." 

She stepped back from him, slowly unzipped her sweater, and held it open
for him. 

The pretty pink blouse was only buttoned on the bottom three buttons.
The top was unable to close over her breasts. It still was able to 
cover them, even open, but barely. 

She wasn't wearing a bra underneath. 

"I think I'll keep it and wear it only for you," she said as she closed
her sweater and kissed him goodnight. 

* * * 

Jack was lying in bed knowing he hadn't felt this way in a long time. A
voice was still screaming at him from the back of his mind, but that 
voice was getting fainter. He found that he wanted to see her again. 
No. Not again. Now. A voice in his head said, 'Boy, when you fall, you 
fall hard!' He smiled and went to sleep. It was the best night of sleep 
he had had in months. 

* * * 

Elyse was lying in bed thinking that she really had no intention of
opening her sweater in front of Jack. She was just going to keep the 
blouse because he had given it to her. She didn't know what made her do 
it. Even Lee, with all his groping and fondling, never got that much of 
a view. She knew the answer. Oh yes, she knew. She loved Jack. Even the 
thought of his name sent an electric thrill through her. Tonight he was 
hers. She had to figure out how to keep it that way. She couldn't let 
up or the memory of Holly might destroy things. Oh! How Elyse wished 
that girl had never existed. 

* * * 

The following evening, Jack asked Elyse out to the movies. They went and
had a great time, snuggling and kissing through out. 

They had no idea that they had been noticed. 

* * * 

The next day at work, Jack was on break and heard "Jack line 4. Jack
line 4." He walked over and answered the phone. There was no one there. 
He shrugged his shoulders and went back on break. 

* * * 

That night he asked Elyse to go out to dinner with him. She answered the
door ready to go. She was very excited and it showed. No guy had ever 
taken her out to dinner before. He took her to a local Italian 
restaurant. When they were being seated, she took off her maxi coat to 
revel a beautiful pink gown that made her look regal. He had already 
noticed that she had her hair done up in a bun on her head with side 
combs that sparkled in the light. She could have passed for royalty. He 
shook his head. He couldn't believe this wonderful creation wanted to 
be with him. 

They ordered and ate, behaving themselves the entire time. 

When they returned to her house, she asked him to come in a moment. He
waited for her to return as he stood by the door. She came back holding 
a small pin that had a heart with an arrow through it. She pinned it on 
him. It was only at that moment that he realized that she was wearing 
one as well. "There," she said, patting him where she had pinned it on. 
"That makes it official. We belong to each other now." 

He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. He kissed her and said
goodnight. 

When he got home, the phone was ringing. He answered it. 

"Hello," 

There was nothing other than the sounds of clicks and the eventual dial
tone. 

* * * 

Jack was lying in bed replaying the wonderful dinner and evening he had
with Elyse. He couldn't imagine Elyse looking any more beautiful. The 
pin was a complete surprise and he agreed with the symbolism. He knew 
he had to start college again in a few days and that was going to cut 
down his free time dramatically. Any time away from Elyse was torture. 
He found himself not looking forward to it. 

* * * 

Elyse was lying in bed glowing with the image of Jack on her mind.
Tonight was the most special night of her life! Jack was so polite and 
handsome it made a shudder go through her just thinking of him. She was 
so thrilled that he accepted the pin. Now she truly felt that they were 
a couple. She looked forward to each moment with him. 

* * * 

Jack went back to college that following Monday. The courses were going
to be difficult this semester. He was worried that between work and 
studying that he would never see Elyse. 

When he got home, he had a few minutes before he had to go to work. As
he changed, the phone rang. He went to answer it. 

"Hello," 

"Jack..." and there was a click. 

He looked at the clock. It couldn't have been his Mother. She would have
been on her way home at that time. He called Elyse. She wasn't home. He 
didn't have any more time for detective work, so he let it alone and 
went to work. 

"Jack, you have a call on line 2. Jack, line 2," said the PA system. 

He went to the nearest phone and answered. "Hello?" 

"Jack..." and click. 

Somebody was having fun with him and it wasn't funny any more. 

* * * 

It'd been a long week and he finally had a chance to see Elyse. He
hadn't seen her for days and was so excited that he was shaking. He 
arrived at her door and she was waiting for him. She almost knocked him 
over as she jumped up on him. He had come to a realization the night 
before. He knew it to be true and he was sure he was going to say it 
sometime that evening. He just hoped that it wouldn't come out at the 
wrong time. They walked into the living room and Shelly was just 
finishing watching the news. 

"Hi Jack." 

"Hi Shelly. How are you?" 

"Much better now that you're here. I don't need to keep hearing Elyse go
on and on about you. Well, I'll leave you two alone," she said, giving 
him a wink. 

Elyse jumped on him, knocking him down on the sofa. She tried to kiss
his face away. Finally she found his mouth and they didn't move for 
over an hour. When she lifted her head he said it. 

"I love you Elyse. I think I have since you hit me with your book. I'm
sorry it took so long for me to realize it." 

She felt tears starting to run down her cheeks. "My Knight in Shining
Armor. I love you, too." She looked in his eyes and still felt the dark 
cloud over him. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it was still 
there, even though he loved her. 

* * * 

Several hours went by with no sound coming from the living room. Shelly
started to be alarmed by the silence. She prayed they were still there 
and not on their way to Maryland to get married. She peeked. They were 
there. They were on the sofa looking at each other, kissing and petting 
each other. She could feel the love coming from them. She couldn't be 
happier for her daughter. She knew the feeling. She had shared it with 
her husband for many years before his heart attack. She snuck back to 
her room and slept a satisfied sleep. The following morning she found 
them both sleeping on the couch, fully clothed, with their faces an 
inch apart from each other. 

'She couldn't have picked better,' she thought to herself. She moved as
quietly as she could and left for work. 

* * * 

The semester dragged on. Shelly never said a word about the night when
Jack fell asleep with her daughter on the couch. He tried to see Elyse 
as much as he could, but sometimes it was only every other week. He 
longed to feel her lips and she waited for his touch. 

Spring break was coming up in two days. In a bold move, he requested
time off from work and made a reservation at a hotel in the city. He 
wanted to surprise Elyse with this trip and hoped that she wouldn't 
think badly of him. He knew if she accepted they would probably not 
come back in the same virginal state as they had left. He felt that he 
was finally ready and he hoped the same was true for her. He broke the 
news over dinner at her house the next day. 

Elyse sat in silence. He realized he had over stepped his bounds and
fumbled with the words to retract his statement. She held a finger up 
to quiet him. 

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" she asked, as she folded
her hands in front of her. 

"Ah, I guess," he said. 

She got up from the table and walked around to him. He was waiting for
the slap across the face and the words 'Get out!' Instead, she held his 
face in her hands and kissed him. "I'm ready, my 'Knight in Shining 
Armor'." 

* * * 

Jack was elated as he drove home. He finally was ready to be with a
girl, or, now that he thought about it, a woman. As he walked into his 
house, the phone was ringing. He answered it. 

"Jack, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I have to talk to you." 

Time came to a halt. 

* * * 

It was nine months ago. He and Holly were arguing again about her
wanting to consummate their relationship. 

"I've told you, I'm not ready for that!" he said, holding his hands out
in front of him as if to seek her understanding. "Why can't you except 
that?" he pleaded. 

Holly was pacing back and forth, "I love you and you love me. What more
do we need?" 

"Things are not going to be the same afterward. I know it. We'll drift
apart. I don't want that to happen," pleaded Jack. 

"I don't think you really love me. I've thought that as soon as you
refused to make love to me," she stopped and stood with her hands on 
her hips. 

"That's not true, Holly, and you know it!" he snapped back. 

* * * 

"We need to talk," said Holly. 

Jack was shaking. "There is nothing to talk about." 

"Yes there is, Jack. I still love you and I know you love me." 

"There is nothing to discuss," he said through clenched teeth. 

"There is much to discuss. Meet me at the diner in ten minutes. I know
you won't let me down." She hung up. 

He hung up the phone and a wave of anger and hurt welled up in him. 

There was no way he going to see her. 

* * * 

He walked into the diner ten minutes later. Holly was sitting in a booth
in the back. As he walked up to her, his heart started to hammer in his 
chest. He sat down across from her and she smiled. She reached for his 
hand, but he snapped it back like it would bite him. 

She ignored the rebuff. "I'm sorry I hurt you Jack. I've tried to allow
you time to work off your anger on your own, hoping that you would come 
to your senses and come back to me. Now I see you have a new girl and I 
can't stay away anymore. You can't love her. You love me." 

Jack closed his eyes and the remainder of that fateful last encounter
came back to him in its vivid and hurtful form. 

* * * 

"That's not true, Holly, and you know it!" he snapped back. 

"At first I thought that you might just be scared. I know some people
are the first time. When I saw that wasn't the problem, I believed that 
you had my best interests in mind. Then I realized that it was you that 
was the problem. You don't love me!" 

"I do love you Holly! More than you could ever know!" he replied, hoping
she saw it in his eyes. 

"Oh really? Maybe I'm sick and tired of waiting for you to show it.
Maybe I've been sick and tired of it for a while," she sneered back at 
him. 

"What are you saying? Are you breaking up with me?" he asked, truly lost
in her meaning. 

"I don't want to break up with you, but I want to know if you really
love me. If you truly do, you won't like what I have to tell you. In 
fact, you should get extremely jealous. Then I'll know if you love me." 


"What?" Jack asked, suddenly having a bad feeling. 

"Last night I was feeling pretty blue about you always putting me off
about sex. So, while you were at work, I went down to Burger King to 
get a shake. While I was in line, some good-looking guy named Jerry 
walked up and started a conversation. I've never seen him before and I 
didn't ask him where he was from. Well, when I finished my shake, I got 
up to leave. Jerry asked me if I wanted him to walk me home. I didn't 
mind. You know that short cut I always use through the woods, right? 
That takes about fifteen minutes off the trip. So, as we were walking 
through the woods, Jerry propositions me right there," she said, and 
then paused her story. 

"So that's it? You drank a shake with a guy at Burger King and then he's
polite enough to walk you home. Then he gets bold during the walk and 
asks you to do it with him. I'm not jealous of that. You're a 
good-looking girl. I give the guy some credit for being brave enough to 
ask something like that so fast," said Jack. 

"No, no, no," she said, wagging her finger at him. "I'm not done." 

"Did he grab you? Did he try to force you?" asked Jack, visibly getting
upset. 

"Oh, I seem to have hit a nerve. Good. It's nice to know you really do
care," she said, smiling at him. 

"Holly, just tell me. If this guy hurt you in any way, I'll hunt him
down until I find him," said Jack, shaking with rage. 

"Let me finish the story," she said, while patting Jack on the cheek.
"Like I said, he drops the big question right there in the middle of 
the woods. It was already dark out and like I said, he was a 
good-looking guy. He wasn't pressuring me or grabbing me. It wasn't 
like that at all." 

Jack didn't like the sound of the last sentence from her. "What
happened?" His voice had a flat tone to it. 

"Jack, I've been waiting for you for months. I know I said I was feeling
a little blue yesterday, but in reality, I was feeling very horny. I 
couldn't wait for you anymore. Besides, I was convinced that you just 
didn't love me enough to do it. I just had to know what it was like!" 

"You had sex with him?" His voice was still flat. 

"Twice," she replied. 

Jack was shaking again. "You did this willingly?" 

"Sure, I had to know what I was missing. Let me tell you something Jack,
you're missing the best part of life! It was great!" 

Jacks' mind was beginning to cloud with rage. 

"Are you jealous? Do you want to beat the crap out of Jerry? How about
me? Show me that you really love me. My parents aren't home. Take me 
there and make love to me or beat the shit out of me Jack, but show me 
something!" 

Jack was so angry that his vision was fading as he stood before her,
trembling. How could a girl that he had loved for the last three years 
stand there and tell him she had sex with another guy as if it was part 
of a school project? He felt as if his heart had been torn out of his 
chest. 

"Don't tell me you have nothing to say," she said, throwing her arms up
in the air in disbelief. 

Shaking with rage, Jack averted his eyes from hers down to his tightly
clenched fists. In a quiet and even tone he said, "What I feel for you 
now..." he hissed through his teeth. All his love for her turned to 
hurt and... 

He turned on her and walked away, never looking back. 

* * * 

"Come on, Jack. You know that this girl can't mean as much to you as I
do. That Jerry guy was a one-time thing. I've been waiting for you to 
come to your senses and come back to me. We've loved each other for so 
long, how could you not want to start over again?" 

"You have no idea what I feel for you now," Jack uttered. 

"Sure I do. Call that girl and tell her that you're back with me now." 

Jack rose from the table and started to head toward the door. 

"Jack, wait. I know you two are going out of town tomorrow. It won't
help things between us. Cancel the trip and plan it in the summer. That 
way you have some time to think. I know you still love me, otherwise 
you wouldn't have come." 

Jack didn't turn to look at her. Instead he spoke over his shoulder to
her. "I came to tell you to leave me and Elyse alone. Goodnight." he 
said and left the diner. 

* * * 

Jack was lying in bed knowing he did the right thing. Elyse would never
do to him what Holly did. He knew it in his soul. 

* * * 

The next morning he was at Elyse's house helping to put her bags in the
car. He opened the passengers' door to let her in and closed it. As he 
walked around the other side, he noticed Holly standing across the 
street a few houses down. He opened his door and told Elyse that he 
would be just a second and kissed her. He closed the door and walked 
over to Holly. 

"Jack, are you sure you want to do this? I still love you. We can make
it work." 

"I love Elyse. Nothing could be clearer in my mind," he said as he
started to turn. Holly stopped him. 

"Jack, wait. Don't go! I love you Jack! That has to mean something to
you!" she said, holding on to him. 

"Not since that night it hasn't. Now there's only Elyse," replied Jack. 

Tears were starting to fill her eyes. The realization had set in that
she truly had lost him. Jack hated it when she cried. 

"Jack, please, wait! Kiss me, just one more time." 

He shook his head and started to turn. She held on tight and turned him
back. 

"Jack, please. I promise I'll try not to cry. Please." 

A moment passed between them and he kissed her. 

A hundred memories passed in each of their minds. When they were done,
as promised, she didn't cry. She stepped away and pointed across the 
street. 

"You better go. She's waiting for you. I'll always love you Jack.
Goodbye," she said softly, reluctantly letting go of him as he backed 
away. 

"I never want to see you again for the rest of my life," he replied over
his shoulder, as he walked back to his car. 

He opened the door and got in. 

"Who were you talking to?" Elyse asked. 

"My past," he replied, putting the car in gear. 

"What? Elyse asked, and then it hit her. She snapped her head back to
see Holly with her hands to her face and shaking with her sobs. Jack 
backed the car out of the driveway and passed Holly on the way down the 
street. "Jack was that..." 

"Yes." 

"She was crying Jack," she said, looking at his face. 

"I know, I told her that I love only you." 

A small smile formed on Elyse's face. She knew he was all hers, yet
there still seemed to be the dark cloud over Jack that she sensed the 
first time she met him. It troubled her. 

Jack felt better that he saw Holly one last time. It allowed the hurt to
find closure. He took a few deep breaths. The unspoken darkest feeling 
of all no longer had a reason to exist. It left him with the last deep 
breath. 

Elyse noticed it right away. "What?" she asked looking at him. 

"Nothing, let's have the best time of our lives," he said, feeling born
again, and putting his arm around her. 

"Pull over," she said. 

"Why..." 

"Just pull over," she said. 

"Don't you want to go?" he asked, as he pulled to the side of the road. 

"Yes! I just want to look at 'My Knight in Shining Armour' for the first
time without hate in his heart," she said, holding his face in her 
hands. 

* * * 

They arrived late to the hotel.


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