Blue Theme
t was a special night for the two of them. Lance had just taken Erin
out to dinner at a nice restaurant. They returned in a taxi, but the
evening hadn't ended yet. Lance liked Erin enough to do something
special that she would remember for a long time.
"Come," he said to her, "I have a surprise for you."
She looked at the backpack he had just picked up and smiled, grimacing.
Lance led Erin to a picnic table and motioned for her to sit. He opened the backpack and removed a cassette player and two small speakers. He set up the little stereo. Erin laughed.
Lance then removed a gold-plated candlestick holder, into which he placed a tall, blue candle. He lit the candle with a match. Erin sighed.
He then removed two wineglasses. They were colored crystal, with the hue of blue visible in the candlelight. The final piece to the ensemble was a bottle of Italian wine, chosen by Lance both for its high quality and appropriately blue label. Erin was delighted.
The cork removed from the wine and the glasses filled, lance said, "Listen to this." He dipped his finger into the wine and then ran it along the rim of the glass. An eloquent tone sounded from the glass. "Real crystal," he added, intending to impress her.
"You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble," Erin blushed. "But it's very sweet."
"You're worth it," he answered her. He leaned over to her, slowly, and kissed her gently. She grew quiet. "I wanted to show you how special you are to me."
The candle's light reflecting in her teary eyes, she looked into his, tenderly.
"Ever since Tim died," she uttered with a little difficulty, "I haven't felt this good." She reached out to hold Lance's hand.
She drank deeply from her glass.
"I almost forgot," Lance said energetically. "Shall we listen to Chopin preludes or Skryabin etudes?" He held up two cassette tapes.
"Whichever," she answered. "I don't know either one."
"You'll love them. Here's Chopin first."
The beautiful music joined the flickering light to enhance the effects of the wine.
"I feel guilty," announced Erin.
"Is it too soon to be doing this?"
"I feel bad because I like you so much. I'm forgetting Tim already."
"It's been two months," argued Lance, leaning toward Erin and holding both her hands in his. "You can move on with your life and still remember him."
Erin drank again, and Lance drank also, eyeing her with a touch of worry.
She sat, yet a bit sad. Lance remained silent.
Finally, Erin asked, "You're not doing all this just to comfort me, are you? Do you really like me, or is this just a trick?"
"No," he admitted, "I really like you."
Erin smiled, now elated, realizing he was sincere. Lance refreshed their glasses and then held his up. She clinked hers to his, and they drank. Lance and Erin began kissing again, now more passionately.
Back to the archive 
Return to.... SSC