Saying Goodbye

Gail gently shook Jennifer awake. “Hath,” she said. “Wake up.”

Jennifer groaned and rolled over. “Don’t wanna,” she said. She was having a dream about Richie, and it was just getting good.

Gail chuckled. “Wake the fuck up now,” she said, “or I’m gonna smother you.”

Jen rolled back over and cracked open an eye. Gail was already dressed and drinking coffee. “What time is it?”

“A little after ten,” she said. “You have to get going soon.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jennifer got up and stretched. She went to take a quick shower, and threw on jeans and a t-shirt. She and Gail worked in silence, packing up their gear.

“About last night…” Gail started, but Jennifer put up a finger.

“Sweetie, it’s fine. I promise.” The two women embraced.

“Love ya, Hath.”

“Love ya back,” Jennifer said. “Oh, by the way, what did you tell David about why you call me ‘Hath’?”

Gail laughed. “I told him your middle name was ‘Hathaway’ which is a proper English name, and that I preferred it to your given name.” She shrugged. “I don’t think he believes me, though.”

They took their bags, and went down to the lobby. They went to check out and settle up, and Jennifer was annoyed to find that Jon had taken care of their room tabs. “That bastard,” Jennifer said.

“Oh yeah, he sucks,” Gail answered, rolling her eyes at Jennifer. “Get over it.”

Jennifer walked Gail out to her bike, and after the saddle bags were secured the two women shared an embrace. “I’m gonna miss you, sister,” she said.

“Me too,” Gail said. “You call me when you get home,” she said, “and you’d BETTER tell me what happens in Boston when you see Richie again.”

Jennifer laughed. “You’ll hear the screams of pleasure from where you are,” she said, winking.

The two laughed, and Gail climbed onto her bike and with a roar of the engine, she was gone. Jennifer went back into the lobby and called Richie.

“Hey, darlin’,” Richie said.

“Hey, yourself. I’m downstairs, ready whenever you are.” She didn’t have to wait long before he was wrapping her in a big hug.

“Morning,” he said, smiling.

“Morning,” Jennifer replied, and tipped her head back for a kiss. “Sorry about last night,” she said.

“Don’t even worry about it,” Richie said, winking. “But you’d better not have any friends in distress next time I see you,” he joked. “I will not be as forgiving.”

Jennifer’s eyes narrowed. “Oooh, would you have to punish me?” she said softly in his ear.

Richie chuckled. “Maybe,” he said, and kissed her again.

“Jesus, you two, you have a room,” Jon said quietly as he passed them.

Jennifer reached out and snagged his arm. “You paid for my room,” she accused. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” Jon said smiling. “I wanted to. When’s your flight?”

“Ugh, about an hour and a half; we’ve got to be going. It was nice meeting you,” she said.

Jon pulled her in to brush his lips against her cheek. “Likewise,” he said. “Have a good flight.”

“I’ll be doped up; it’ll be great,” she said, laughing. “See you next month,” she winked.

They settled into the back of the car, and made the ride to the airport. Richie waited while Jennifer got checked in, and walked with her to security. The line was pretty long, so she knew she was going to have to go wait pretty soon. Richie pulled her off to the side and hugged her close. “It was really nice meeting you in person, Jennifer,” he said. “I can’t believe it’s only been a couple of days. Why does it feel like I’ve known you forever?”

Jennifer laughed. “Because I’m The One,” she said jokingly. “Capital-T, capital-O.” She saw the shocked look on his face. “Oh relax, I’m just kidding,” she said. “I feel like I’ve known you forever too, but really, it’s because I have. Twenty five years, anyway,” she said, then sighed. “I already can’t wait to see you again,” she said. “Boston can’t come soon enough.”

“I think we’re getting in on the 8th, or at least I can, if you want.”

“Hell yeah, I want,” Jennifer said, then blushed. “Sorry, a little too eager there, huh?”

“Nah, it was fine. I want, too. So…” Richie hated goodbyes. “So, I guess I’ll see you soon but not soon enough.” He pulled Jennifer in for a real kiss. When they broke, Jennifer saw that the line had gone down, and she had about 45 minutes until her flight left.

“I guess I should get in line,” she said sadly.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Richie blew out a breath. “I’ll wait with you.” He stood with her in line, holding her hand until it was time to pass through the gate. He kissed her hard. “Travel safe, darlin’,” he said, “and call me when you land. Or sooner if you need to.”

“Alright, Rich.” She had to dash tears away from her eyes. “God, I miss you already,” she said, kissing him quickly, then she turned from him, thrust her passport and ticket at the guard, and stepped through the gate. She rescued her purse on the other side, looked back at him once to blow him a kiss, and walked away.

As he watched her go, Richie thought about the joke she made about her being The One. He knew that it was way too soon to even be thinking like that, but hell, it made him think. He couldn’t remember the last time he had such a good time with someone, a woman, without having slept with her. He enjoyed the hell out of taking care of her, and talking with her, even sitting and watching crappy cable television with her. He sighed, and left the airport, anxious to see her again.

26 days.

But who’s counting?