Authors: Veronica Melan
Hulk didn’t want to do things in an ordinary way, he wanted a real date. He wanted me to miss him and languish before our meeting, as if everything was happening for the first time; and, to some extent, it was our first date.
Well... Judging by my rapid heartbeat, he achieved his goal. I looked at the note again, then at the omelette, then at the bell, took a deep breath and smiled.
This day was promising to be a great one.
I was looking at him in astonishment, not able to believe that the man in front of me was really Hulk. He was dressed impeccably, his blond hair was trimmed and he was radiating an aura of a calm self-confident person who makes the world go around. A well-tailored suit, powerful shoulders, white shirt’s collar bowed the tanned neck, golden watch gleaming on his wrist, and a clean-shaven chin emphasized by the square corners of Hulk’s beautiful jaw.
“Is that really you?” I stammered and apparently blushed.
As soon as I walked over to the table, he got up and froze for a moment, scanning me from head to toe. And there was something to look at - after visiting a beauty salon and doing some shopping, instead of the usual Shereen there was a lady with perfect hair and makeup approaching my courteous beau.
He smiled, gently kissed my wrist, and made sure I was comfortable sitting at the table opposite him. And I (not knowing whether to laugh or cry) was afraid to look at him. It was hard to believe, but I felt shy. Hulk looked the same, but also somehow different and unfamiliar. In Tally he seemed less sophisticated, not as nitid and lustrous, and it made me lose my bearings.
How much I still didn’t know about him? What was he like in reality? Was he really the Hulk I knew, or was this perfectly looking and smelling man in front of me actually someone else? Suddenly, I was scared that we weren’t suited, that I don’t know him at all.
“Shereen.” he called, “Is everything alright with you?”
I forced myself to meet his silvery eyes, interrupting the aroused stream of fears in my mind.
“I just wasn’t expecting you to be... like that.”
His lips twitched into a smile - so familiar and beautiful. Are these the lips that kissed me last night with such passion?
“Like what?”
“I don’t know... perfect?”
He paused for a moment, digesting what he’d just heard, and then burst out laughing. Several prim and proper couples, dining nearby, turned their heads and looked at us judgmentally, but Hulk didn’t pay any attention to them.
“So that’s what it is! And I was beginning to think God knows what... When you walked into the restaurant, I also stopped breathing, although I always knew you were incredibly beautiful. But yet I was not ready for what I saw. You're gorgeous!”
I blushed with embarrassment and pleasure. The world became cosy and familiar again, an instant relief replaced the recent fears, and the following words helped to dissolve them completely.
“I’m sorry if I’ve embarrassed you, I just wanted to make everything right.”
“What do you mean?”
His eyes were warm, as if hugging me.
“I mean, doing something in a way that I’d never done before, taking you on a real date, having dinner with you in a restaurant, spending as much time with you as you deserve.”
“But you always spent time with me...”
“Yes, but I’ve never had a chance to take care of you properly.”
“What are you talking about?”
Our conversation was interrupted by a waiter, we had to pause and order. As soon as the waiter was gone, Hulk took my hand in his, leaned forward and kissed my fingertips.
“Hush, Curly”
My eyebrows quizzically rose hearing this nickname and made Hulk smile
“Just listen to me, okay? My hands were tied in Tally in many ways, and I couldn’t take care of you the way I always intended. There was the most beautiful woman next to me, and I could not even get her good clothes, because there were no shops. I couldn’t take you out, because there were no restaurants, where couples could go to. I couldn’t prove my love with my actions...
“You are silly...” I gasped.
“And now I can, Shereen. And I’m going to do just that - take you out, pamper you, cherish you, take care of you and express my love in all ways possible.”
He paused for a moment, squeezing my fingers. I looked at him, wanting to shake my head. Yes, he was silly. Didn’t he realise that I loved him not for his ability or inability to "express” his love, but for his personality, temperament and all the traits that made him Hulk who he is. I didn’t give a damn how he was dressed and where he lived. I was certain that somehow we will improve our financial situation, even if it was a bit questionable. But what was really important to me that he was now by my side. He was the same Hulk I met and fell in love with. It happened in Tally where I didn’t care if he could get me new clothes or not. It was enough to get one ice-cream in a park to understand how much he loves me.
Hulk was staring at me and his eyes were deep.
“Will you let me?
“Let you what?”
“Let me take care of you? Love you?”
“Of course.” I said warmly and smiled, “It's the only thing I want - for you to be nearby. Is that hard to understand? And get out with your gifts!”
I laughed, leaned forward and touched his face. Not taking his eyes off my face, he took a small box out of his pocket and opened it. He then gently took my palm off his cheek, and without asking for my permission, slipped the ring on my finger.
Hulk kissed my finger, decorated with his "gift" and handed it back to me as if saying "look at it". I looked at my hand, and a wave of warmth spread from my heart into the world. That thread that was connecting Hulk and I all this time, singing of heavenly voices, suddenly turned into a golden chain - solid and resilient, eternal and indivisible. Its glow turned two of us into one and became the final element in a perfect picture of love.
The ring that now was firmly sitting on my finger had no diamonds or any other gems, but it had two capital letters “HC” in gold interlocking together, as if proclaiming to the world who was now the owner of my heart. Unable to find any words, I got up, walked around the table and sat down on Hulk’s lap, hugged his neck and buried my nose into the white collar of his shirt.
“I love you,” I whispered, not caring about anyone else looking at us - some of them reproachfully, some with a smile, some with a sentimental nostalgia in their eyes, “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Shereen.” his fingers carefully stroked my curly hair, “From now on I am the one you’ll come to laugh or cry, to ask for protection or a new house.”
I couldn’t help giggling. I took my face off his collar and looked into his laughing eyes.
“And I'll never leave you.” he added quietly. “No matter what happens, I will be with you, for you, always there to help, to support, and I will love you more than anyone else in the world.”
Yes, despite the suit and a white shirt, he was the same Hulk. My Hulk. The only man I wanted to be with.
“I adore you.” I rubbed my nose against his cheek, “And I will always come to you to laugh and cry and for a new house, and sometimes for an ice-cream.”
We laughed together at the same time. Next to us, hiding his smile and not interrupting our conversation, stood the waiter with a trolley full of food. As soon as I saw him, I slid off Hulk’s knees and took my place at the table.
Our wonderful evening continued with a bunch of questions we were eager to ask each other.
“Hulk, what happened to Jenny?”
“I healed her. Just went to the infirmary and worked on her brain a bit, so she is alright now. And how did you figure out where to find Drake?”
“Oh, you won’t believe it, it was so scary! First I sold those gems that the quarry worker gave me. I haven’t told you about them... I sold them to try and get money so I could use it when I go for help to “Dreams LTD”
“Did you go there again?!”
“Yes, I did, but they refused to help me. They said that no money in the world would make them get in a row with the Commission. So I decided to find Drake and talk to him.”
It took me a while to tell the whole story in detail; I mentioned the calls to the informant, the field, how strange and scary it was to stand there, and after we exchanged comments about it, the conversation switched to other topics.
“Hulk, what happened to Tabitha?”
“I sent her out of Tally and found her a new place to live in. Now she feels useful and needed. What about our new house, do you like it?”
“O-o-o! It’s fantastic! I got lost in all the rooms today. Is there anyone looking after it?”
“There is a cleaner and a gardener I hired a few years ago. They had been coming in from time to time. I have to pay them for their voluntary assistance. Did you see the pool?”
“Yep. Do you use it?”
“I do. If you want, we could invite an interior designer to redecorate some of the rooms to our taste.”
“Great! And who is now the head of the ranch?”
“I found one guy; he’s quite smart and not too cruel. What do you think about Mac? And Dell? Was it scary to meet with them too?”
“A little. But they are nice guys when you get to know them. Did it rain in Tally after I’d left?”
“Nope. By the way, where is your shop? Will you show me?”
“Of course!...”
We had endless amount of questions for each other. There was so much we wanted to know, ask and to share. We enjoyed each other and this comfort we were experiencing, being together. Unbelievable, but after dinner we were actually going home - our new home. Together.
Hulk’s sophistication was no longer making me shy, but rather impressing me. I couldn’t wait to take his jacket off, and feel his hot strong body that I missed so much during those lonely nights. But I already had the most important things - the way he was touching my fingers, his smile, warm waves flowing between us. And all the other things like when exactly I take this jacket off him, when he sees my shop, if I decide to redecorate any rooms didn’t matter that much. Who cares about these small details when the greatest gift of them all is already here.
*****
The time hadn’t changed him at all.
The same tough face, predatory nose and stubborn chin... Only his clothing was plain this time, not the usual silver uniform. But it could change in seconds - from casual to formal, Hulk knew that.
But this morning Drake chose to look like an ordinary man and that was strange, as strange and unusual as it would be walking with him down a park lane, looking at the overcast sky.
Although Hulk learnt how to accept changes light-heartedly, since too many things have changed in the last three years. If earlier there was a strict schedule, things were in their places, actions were planned ahead, and the future was predetermined; now nothing was predetermined anymore. All his carefully built plans were ruined a long time ago.
“I did what I had to do.” Drake said, breaking the heavy silence. Almost trying to excuse himself.
Hulk didn’t object. He knew Drake was right. The commander must punish those who disobey the orders, teach the others by explicit examples, and has no choice but to stick to his word and follow his principals. But Hulk also knew that he couldn’t have acted any differently in that situation and he was right in a sense; however it did not have any impact on the consequences, and those three years of captivity laid a painful weight on his shoulders.
Drake was quiet for a while. His pointed leather shoes trod on the dusty pavement barely covered with a few leaves. It was a dull autumn morning with a light drizzle in the air.
“I was surprised when she called me.” he said, “I wasn’t expecting it.”
They both knew who the conversation was about and Hulk didn’t say anything again. His thoughts switched to Shereen. This morning she, wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, was drinking coffee in the kitchen, flicking through a magazine, getting ready to go to her shop. So cosy and home-like.