The following story is fictional, or not. The characters depicted in the story are also fictional, or not. The events described in the story did happen, or maybe they didn't... I will write it over a period of time... you decide if its true or not..
Click the following for previous chapters:
Chapter 1Chapter 2The Feng Shui Man Said
Chapter 3: The Road to CardiffMelanie's husband's sister had died in a car accident the day before, I discovered. She swerved to avoid a french poodle that had strayed onto the street and lost control of her maroon Boxter. She slammed into a concrete wall. The force of the airbag, which had for some reason not deployed immediately, broke her neck.
The journey from London to Cardiff took just over 2 hours. Athena drove over 80 miles an hour for most of the way. But I felt safe in the confines of the red Volvo 440 we were in. I most appreciated the individually heated seats.
It had been nearly 8 years since I last traveled on the road to Cardiff. Melanie and I had spent a few days holidaying in London, before driving to Cardiff where Mel was reading Law at the University of Wales. I had traveled to Berlin for a conference and decided to take a detour for a few weeks. More memories of that last week together came rushing back with each passing mile. I remembered the night we went to the West End for a performance of Miss Saigon. That was the first time we kissed in public. Melanie had always steered clear of public displays of affection. But that night was special. As we walked out of Drury Lane, it was well past 10 at night. The pubs dotting the streets were packed that night. I remember being surprised at how the large, beer guzzling crowds spilled out onto the streets at almost every corner. It happened at the first street corner we reached, underneath a quaint green lamp. She squeezed my hand as she stopped walking. I had hardly turned to face her when she reached up and kissed me gently on my lips. As I embraced her, she whispered in my ear,
"I think I am falling in love with you".
I was jolted back to reality by the loud screeching of the large truck in front of us, and the deafening blast of the Volvos air horns. Athena expertly maneuvered her way around the rapidly slowing 18 wheeler and flicked her cigarette butt out the window.
"Kelvin had to head north to Glasgow after the funeral today to take care of family business. So you will stay with Mel instead of with me as originally planned. He will be gone for just under a month", Athena said as we exited the M4 and headed into downtown Cardiff.
The roads still looked familiar to me, despite the passage of time. The Rugby stadium looked as majestic as it did back then, probably with a new coat of paint from what I could tell. The light was fading fast, and as we pulled up to the front of the double story house at King George Avenue IV, the last traces of orange sunlight were disappearing in the distance.
Athena did not step out of her car. She kissed me on the cheek and whispered "don’t be naughty" before driving off. A dog barked in the distance, and then it was silent. I stood there under the streetlamp in front of Melanies house, without a clue what to expect for the next 3 weeks. I heard the sounds of a door being unlatched, and a slim, dark silhouette appeared in the doorway of the house. My heart skipped a beat as I got closer to the door. I could see her face clearly now, she was still as pretty as I remembered her.
We embraced and exchanged greetings. She had a pot of hot tea waiting. We sat down and chatted for a while. It was good to talk to her once again. The years just melted away. It was nearly 1 in the morning when she led me up the stairs to my room. I placed my luggage down besides the radiator grills, and turn around to face her.
"Good night Mel", I said.
She replied, "Do you fantasize about me every day?"
Shocked, I weakly blurt out a question, "Why do you ask me that?"
"Because since I fantasize about you every day, I thought you might as well".
Chapter 4