Authors: Deanna Lynn Sletten
Annie didn't hesitate. She didn't want to think about the strange occurrences, the dreams, or Sara. She just wanted to spend time with William. "That would be nice," she said.
"And maybe stay the night? Or the week?" William asked, hoping he wasn't pushing her.
Annie smiled. "I could do that," she said. "I'll be over as soon as I'm packed."
William's eyes sparkled, and his face broke out into a big grin. "See you then," he said happily. When he broke the connection, he sat back and sighed with relief.
William and Annie spent a wonderful week together, enjoying walks on the beach and nights in each other's arms. Dreams, fate, and coincidences be dammed. Being with William was reality, and a nice reality at that. Annie wasn't going to let silly thoughts or ideas get in the way of her happiness with William.
During the week, Annie also finished up the last details of Sam's graduation party. The graduation was late in the morning on a Saturday, and the party was set for two o'clock that afternoon. Annie asked Alma if she could be at the house when the caterers and decorators set up, while the graduation was taking place, and she readily agreed. Everything was set so all William had to worry about was picking up his parents from the airport on Friday and getting everyone to the graduation on time.
William awoke early on Saturday and watched Annie as she slept soundly. She looked beautiful, warm, and inviting. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have found her. They'd spent a wonderful week together, and he wished it would last forever. That thought made him pause. Forever. He had once thought that Sara was his forever, and he never thought he'd be fortunate enough to find someone else to fill the void of her loss. But here she was, lying beside him, a woman he could picture spending the rest of his life with.
Leaning over Annie, he softly kissed the hollow of her neck. When she stirred, he continued trailing kisses down her shoulder. Annie turned, giving him a sleepy smile. Soon they were enveloped in each other's arms.
Later, happy and sated, William lay with his head on Annie's shoulder while she ran her fingers through his thick hair.
"Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?" Annie asked, in a slow, sleepy voice.
William chuckled. "No. Have I ever told you how much I love your body?" He ran a finger down between her breasts and over her flat stomach.
Annie giggled. "I think your actions speak louder than words," she teased. "Hey, that tickles."
William continued running his finger in circles around her stomach, making Annie laugh. Under his finger, he felt a tiny, raised line on the lower right side of her stomach. Raising his head, he saw a faint scar there. Realization hit him, and he knew immediately what is was.
"Is this the scar from your appendectomy?" he asked, gently touching it.
Annie raised her head and looked at the spot he touched. "Yes," she said softly.
William continued staring at Annie's scar, all the while tracing circles around it with his finger.
This is what Sara's scar would have looked like, had she lived.
"I wonder why I've never noticed it before," he said.
"I think you've probably been too busy doing other things to notice," she said with a mischievous grin.
William bent over and placed a gentle kiss on Annie's scar, then moved up to lay beside her. "I'm happy you came through the surgery just fine," he said quietly, kissing her cheek.
Annie looked over at William, her eyes turning serious.
He frowned when he saw the look in her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I recently found out that my surgery didn't go as smoothly as I'd thought."
William sat up in bed. "What do you mean?"
"I died during surgery, but they revived me in time. No one told me. I read about it in my medical records. Then I called my old boyfriend, Joey, and he confirmed it."
"You died?" William asked, astonished by what he'd just heard.
"Yes. I had some sort of reaction to the anesthesia, and it made my heart stop."
William thought back to the day Sara died during surgery after her appendix burst. An appendectomy was supposed to be routine, yet now he knew of two people who'd died during that type of surgery. Fortunately, Annie had come back to life. Instinctively, he reached over and pulled Annie into his arms.
"I'm so happy you lived," he said, his words brushing her ear softly. Then, pulling away, he asked, "What was it like, dying? Do you remember anything about it?"
Annie thought about her dreams of the colors in the sky and the warm, luminous face that smiled down upon her. She thought of the being with the blue-green eyes that reached out and hugged her tight. She thought maybe these dreams were reoccurrences of what she'd experienced when she'd died, but she didn't know for sure, and she didn't want to share this with William yet.
"I don't really remember anything," she finally told him.
William sighed. He had heard people say that they saw a tunnel of light or deceased loved ones or they felt a divine presence surrounding them when they died. He had never been a religious or spiritual man, but he believed there was something or somewhere larger than this world. At least, that was what he believed after Sara died. He hoped she had found happiness wherever she had gone after leaving him.
Annie touched William's cheek, turning his face so his eyes met hers. "What are you thinking?"
"That this is too serious of a subject to talk about on a Saturday morning," he said, then smiled. Once again he pulled her to him and, this time, he made love to her slowly, gently, and with a passion that could not deny how deep his feelings ran for her.
Chapter Eighteen
William and Annie's idyllic weekend came to an end when Annie announced on Monday that she'd be going to Seattle for a photo shoot Wednesday through Friday.
William's brows rose. "You never told me about this before," he said as they drank coffee while sitting at the kitchen island.
Annie shrugged. "I guess I didn't think about it. This shoot was booked months ago. I just forgot about it until now."
Frowning, William stared into his coffee mug but didn't say anything. Annie had the feeling he was upset about her leaving.
"You can come with me," she offered.
"Actually, I have to go down to Santa Barbara to meet with the client I'm designing the house for," William said, still not meeting her eyes.
"Well then, we'll both be busy." Annie stood and dropped a quick kiss on William's cheek before walking to the sink and rinsing her mug.
"I had hoped you could go with me," William said. "I thought it would be a fun getaway for us."
Annie turned from where she stood at the sink and looked directly at William. He seemed upset, but she couldn't understand why. After all, he knew she worked, why would her trip bother him?
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "It would have been nice to go with you, but I have to work. Maybe we can plan a getaway another weekend."
"Maybe," William said without enthusiasm. He was disappointed that her work was once again getting in the way of their time together.
Annie tried to ignore his tone, but it bothered her for most of the day. Finally, she told William she needed to go home to do laundry and get ready to leave on Wednesday. She assured him she'd see him on Saturday, when they both were back from their trips.
By the time the weekend came again, Annie had forgotten all about William's attitude toward her earlier in the week and spent the weekend once more at his home. It was Sandy's twenty-first birthday, so the four of them went out for a nice dinner at a coastal restaurant and celebrated. William was relieved that at least now Sandy was legal to drink, and he wouldn't have to worry about her being picked up for underage drinking. He could only hope she wouldn't do anything stupid like drinking and driving, and played it safe.
The weeks went by quickly and soon the week of Sam's graduation and party was upon them. Annie helped William ready the guest room for his parents. They also did a few cleaning chores that William didn't expect Alma to do, like sweeping off the decks and sidewalks, cleaning windows, and dusting off items far above Alma's reach. By the Tuesday of the week before graduation, the house was sparkling clean.
Annie had plenty to do herself to prepare for her photo shoot, and she'd planned on staying at her own place Tuesday and Wednesday before leaving on Thursday. When William invited her to attend a high school award ceremony on Wednesday night, she hesitated.
"Sam isn't just a great golfer. He's a great student," William said. "He'll be getting awards for academics. I'm sure he'd love it if you came."
Annie agreed to go to the ceremony, because she wanted to support Sam, who she had grown to love immensely, and didn't want to upset William. He still seemed put out because she wouldn't be there for the graduation, so she conceded, even though she knew she'd be stressed trying to finish everything she had to do before leaving.
On Wednesday she ran errands, paid bills, and did as much laundry of her own as possible. She had re-confirmed the time the caterers would arrive at the house on Saturday, reminded Cherise about the desserts she'd ordered, and double-checked with the bakery to make sure the cake would be delivered on time. She'd also talked to Alma one last time, too, just to make sure everything went smoothly. By the time Annie was dressed and driving over to William's house to meet him before the award ceremony, she was worn out.
She met up with Sam as she entered the house through the kitchen door. He looked sharp in a suit and tie, his dress shoes polished to perfection.
"You look very handsome," she told him, which only made him blush.
"Thanks," he said. Then shyly he added, "And thanks for coming, Annie."
Annie gave him a big hug. "Wouldn't miss it," she said, happy now that she'd agreed to come.
Sandy walked down the stairs, dressed conservatively in a simple, royal blue dress and heels. The color of the dress made her blue eyes sparkle. Annie noticed that she had toned down her makeup and wasn't wearing all her piercings, only earrings. College had ended the week before, and Sandy was living at home full time for the summer. She had just started working part time in an art shop in town and seemed to enjoy it.
"You look very pretty," Annie said to Sandy as she passed her on the way up to see William. Sandy only smiled in reply.
"Oh, there you are," William said as Annie entered the room. He was standing in the doorway of his walk-in closet and was only half-dressed, tying his tie. Annie walked over to him, placed a light kiss on his lips, and began tying his tie for him.
"You look very nice," William said, admiring her in the simple black dress she wore. Her tiny frame looked even more slender in black.
"Thanks." After Annie finished his tie, she walked over and sat on the bed to wait for him. "You're holding up the parade," she teased. "Everyone is ready except for you."
"Sorry. I was looking for my tan suit earlier but couldn't seem to find it. I want to wear it on Saturday to the graduation."
Annie thought a moment. "Didn't you give it to me last week to drop off at the dry cleaners?" she asked.
"Yeah," William said as he slipped on his shoes, then reached for his suit jacket. "I figured you'd have picked it up by now."
Annie's brows furrowed. "I haven't had a chance to pick it up. I helped you clean earlier this week and had a bunch of errands to run for myself before I leave tomorrow."
"But I want to wear it Saturday," William said, sounding like a spoiled child.
Annie stared hard at William a moment before replying in an even tone. "Well, what's the problem? You can ask Alma to pick it up tomorrow on her way over here."
"Alma doesn't pick up drying cleaning for me," William said, his tone slightly annoyed. "I don't ask her to do personal errands like that."
Annie's anger simmered. "But you expect me to? When did I become your maid?"
"I never said you were my maid," William said, walking over to Annie. "I just assumed when you said you had errands to do, you'd pick up my dry cleaning, too."
"Well, you assumed wrong." Annie stood and walked to the door. "You can pick up your own dry cleaning from now on. That way, you'll have it when you want it."
"Hey," William hurried over to where Annie stood and reached out to touch her arm. She turned and stared at him, her eyes spitting fire. "Don't be angry with me. I only asked."
"No, William, you didn't just ask, you assumed. I don't mind doing a few errands for you now and again, but you can't assume I'll take over all your extra work. I have a life and a job, too. You're not the only one who's busy."
"Geez, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was such a big deal," William said, but to Annie, he didn't sound sorry at all.
Annie tried to calm her voice. "I'm your girlfriend, William. Not your wife. Please don't treat me like I am."
William's eyes flashed. "What's that supposed to mean?"