What May Come Part 2

More than anxious to get to her apartment, Jenny said, "It's this way, follow me."  Without delay, she bounded up the stairs with Thad on her heels. One flight, then two, they ran to the top of the third and Thad said nothing, but wondered how far up they were going. As they reached the top of the sixth floor, Jenny turned to Thad, slightly out of breath, with a look of apology on her face. Thad said nothing, just smiled, as they continued up to the seventh floor. To Thad's relief, Jenny went to the door that led to the hall. They had arrived! Thad followed like an obedient puppy. Down the hall they continued to the last door. At the speed of light, Jenny opened the door and they were inside, warm....sort of, safe, and completely alone. The sound of them trying to catch their breath was the only sound in the room. Thad inquired, between breaths, "You have no elevator in this building?"

 Looking at him side ways, Jenny answered, "Of course we do. It's just that we escaped the post office.....only to be trapped in an elevator? I don't think so."  "Good point," Thad relented.

Sounding very much like a little girl, Jenny said....."My, ummm brother, Thomas, is big, like you." She gestured with her hands, reaching as high as she could. Thad was searching for a response to this interesting comment when Jenny expanded her thought. "Thomas has some clothes here and I think they should fit you."

"That room there." Jenny pointed awkwardly toward a half open bedroom door, "it has its own bathroom, so you will find towels and everything you should need." They both stood silently, shivering and sweating. Then Thad said, "Umm, o.k. I'll just....pointing to the door....do that.....o.k., yeah."

Shutting the door behind him, Thad leaned his head against it. Running his fingers through his hair, he took a deep breath in an attempt to collect himself. Softly, Thad said, "This is wild!"

For the first time, Thad looked around and took in his surroundings. The bedroom he stood in was large. The bed was queen size, covered in bedding that looked high quality.  Browns, tans and aquas made up the color palette. Decorative pillows were plentiful on the bed. It made it most inviting. A large dresser stood opposite the bed and the dark wood complimented the tone of the hardwood floors. The generous area rug that lay underneath the bed assured warm and cushioned comfort. Detail, style, and personal touches were every where his eye looked.

 Still shivering, Thad opened the closet to see what options he had. A half dozen long sleeve button down shirts and twice as many T-shirts hung before him. A couple pair of jeans and one well loved pair of sweats completed his options. Choosing a pale blue T-shirt and a button down in a darker shade of blue, Thad grabbed a pair of jeans and moved to the dresser to try his luck  Aah...socks and to his great fortune, Jenny's brother was apparently a boxer guy.

The color scheme carried into the bathroom. Dark tiled floors that looked like wood, aquas and tans in the towels and accessories. Thad softly whispered, "details".  He stepped into the shower and enjoyed the feel of the warm water falling on his chilled skin. The extra high shower head was a treat. He was accustomed to ducking down to rinse his hair since at 6'4", he usually had no other choice. As the water cascaded down his body, thoughts flooded his mind. This girl.....this woman was like no girl he had ever known. He had the distinct impression that her depth of beauty escaped her completely. She was smart, obviously generous of spirit, and, and........captivating.

Jenny showered and changed in record time, not wanting Thad to come out before her. She put milk on to heat for cocoa. A large pot sat at the back of the stove with her signature chicken noodle soup slowly coming to a bubbling boil. No canned soup for this girl.

Cozy and warm, curled up on the couch, watching as the fire crackled in the fireplace, Jenny wondered how spontaneous her decision  to bring Thad home was or maybe wasn't. The blizzard was not of her making nor did she arrange to be alone in the post office with him and, of course, she couldn't just leave him stranded. On the other hand, how long had she hoped he would break the ice and say something to her and give her more acknowledgement than a passing nod?

As she thought about it, she chastised herself for not making the introduction sooner.....much sooner! But, how do you say it, without sounding ridiculous?

                            "Lovely weather we're having."

"Do you get as much junk mail as I do? Maybe being Mr. '007', you don't get junk mail. Ha Ha!! Oh, gosh!"

"How ya doin' ?  By the way, you remember Nicole that girl who left you flat with almost zero explanation? Yeah, my cousin, Rachel was her room mate. Nice to make your acquaintance. I think you are wonderful."

"You do?"  The sound of Thad's voice made Jenny jump. There he was standing in front of her smiling, big eyes all a twinkle. Jenny stammered,  "I, I, um".......the milk chose that moment to boil over on the stove. "Oh, No!"  Jenny ran to the kitchen to clean up the mess, ever so grateful for the interruption. She felt unnerved between getting caught voicing her honest feelings and the sight of Thad, fresh from the shower, brown hair, damp and curling at the ends and his eyes sparkling like sapphires; distractingly beautiful. If this wasn't the day for hot chocolate, there wasn't one to be found. After the mess was cleaned up, Jenny went for a clean pan to begin again. About that time, she heard Thad's voice behind her, "Can I be of any help?"

Thad sounded cool, calm, relaxed.....at ease. Appearances can be deceiving. Jenny was stirring the soup while she waited for the milk to heat. Thad found himself staring and speechless. At that moment she looked his way, her brown eyes so full of questions, sincerity, and something else?  If he would allow the thought, he might convince himself she was glad to see him. Hmmm...he liked the idea, but could it be so?

"I thought cocoa would be nice. Is that good with you?"    "Well, it depends."................

Jenny had changed into brown lounge pants and a long sleeved T-shirt, it's soft yellow hue brought out the brown of her eyes and made her golden curls that much more lovely. He was momentarily lost in his admiration.....

"Thad." Jenny asked.  "Huh? Thad answered almost dreamily. "Depends on what?" "What depends on what?"  Thad asked, confused. With admirable patience, Jenny repeated her questions. "I asked you if you were good with having a cup of hot chocolate. You said, "It depends."  "I asked, Depends on what?"

"Oh." Thad put his hands in his pockets and blushed slightly. "Well, it depends if you have any of that marshmallow stuff. I really like it with that marshmallow stuff". As he spoke, she set the jar on the counter and as a bonus, a box of graham crackers.  As quick as a flash, Thad was by Jenny's side laughing and before he could censor his thought, he heard himself  saying, "Jenny, you are my kind of woman!"  Jenny let the comment float away and said, "O.k., marshmallow coming right up." and she punctuated it with a smile.

They sat in front of the fire dunking their graham crackers into their hot chocolate. "This is so good!"  Thad said through a mouthful of graham cracker. "Yeah, it is. It really hits the spot."

Thad dove into the deep end, wanting to settle the awkward revelation from earlier. "So, I'm a stranger, but I'm not a stranger?" Jenny looked at him with a puzzled expression. "You know me because of Nicole or because of Rachel, but I don't know you. Not from that world anyway. The first time I remember seeing you was at the post office. I remember that day with perfect clarity, so am I missing something?"

"No, no, you aren't. When Rachel and Nicole were room mates, I visited often. Nicole had, as you know, a wall covered with pictures of you and her, sooo I know your face well. You guys often went away skiing."

"As I know." Thad said with a  mischievous smile.  Jenny continued, "Well, when Nicole was away, I slept in her bed."

Thad found this declaration completely unremarkable and waited; hoping there was more. He responded with "Uh-huh." just to urge her on. Jenny took a deep breath as if she was about to unburden herself from some tremendous weight.

She looked Thad straight in the eye. "One weekend, you left your sketch book behind. I looked through it. They were mesmerizing ...each drawing told a story that evoked an emotion. The beauty, playfulness, and tenderness; they grabbed my heart. Until then, I honestly hadn't  given you any thought. A random guy I had never met and that was it. But your drawings.......it was obvious that you poured yourself into them and it came off the page; it touched me. So, I started asking Rachel casual questions about you. I found myself wanting to know more about the person who could create these exquisitely crafted moments and wishing I could walk straight into them.

"Wow!!" is all Thad could offer. Then he gently took her hand and squeezed it. And all this time, I thought you were simply my brown eyed girl. Today you could not have chosen to say anything more encouraging, uplifting, and kind. "Thank you."

"You are welcome. It is a simple truth. Uhhhhh, when exactly did I become your brown eyed girl?"