Out of Gas

"Well, your generation may do that kind of thing," Alisha said almost smugly. "Mine still believes in old-fashioned love and romance."

"Um...Stranded Guy is my generation, Mom," Caryn said triumphantly.

Before her mom could reply, Caryn said, "Bye, Mom. And have fun. Please, for the love of God, have some fun!"

Even as she watched her daughter walk out of the house, she was dying to defend to herself. But against what? That she wanted to be loved? That she was so lonely and tired of being alone that her body literally ached to be held and taken? That she didn't really like this handsome, younger man who'd made her feel like no one else ever had? That she hadn't really kissed him and enjoyed it? What exactly was Caryn wrong about?

Alisha knew the answer and a few minutes later, when she finally 'lowered her shields' she knew it was nothing but bluster. She knew that if he kissed her again she'd kiss him back. And she also knew if wanted to...love her...she'd love him back. And she'd do so with utterly unbridled passion borne of pent-up want and need.

She had just under an hour to get ready, and she pulled out all the stops as she showered, did her hair and makeup, and chose her best summer outfit.

She had a white, silky, buttonless blouse with spaghetti straps that fit her toned body quite nicely. She also had a shorter black skirt she hadn't worn in...how long had it been? Three years? Four? No, it had been nearly five. But it still looked new and went perfectly with the white top, as did the four-inch black heels she chose.

A single-stranded silver necklace of tiny little 'sausage links' and a pair of silver earrings pulled it all together. As her hair was drying she painted her long nails a deep red to match the glossy shade of lipstick she'd just applied.

At five 'til eight, a very nervous Alisha Myers waited for the Honda Accord to pull into her driveway. At three minutes past the hour, she saw it and her already-racing heart went into overdrive.

When she saw him get out of his car, he body reacted in a way that shouldn't have surprised her, but it did. She was suddenly getting very wet as she saw him in a nice-looking dress shirt and slacks making him look older and even more handsome than she remembered. And once again, he was carrying a bouquet of red roses.

She opened the door as he walked up the steps and stepped aside for him.

"Anderson! Hi!" she said trying not sound too excited.

"Hi. And...wow. You look...amazing!" he told her as he kissed her on the cheek and handed her the flowers. "I'm hoping things go a little better this time."

Alisha managed to smile as she said, "I'm pretty sure they will," as she remembered how badly things ended the last time he brought her flowers.

He followed her to the kitchen just as he'd done before, and that feeling of deja vu hit him like a ton of bricks. It didn't last long, even when she began trimming the stems again.

"You look very nice," she told him admiringly.

"Thank you. It's amazing what having a job can do for a guy's wardrobe."

She smiled then Anderson said, "But you...you look far beyond nice. I knew you were beautiful, Alisha, but this...this is...insane."

She smiled again then said, "I can't say the outfit is new or due to having a job."

She laughed then added, "Or sometimes three jobs although I've been able to cut back to two since Caryn graduated last month."

"Oh, right. You must be incredibly proud of her."

"I am. And not just for finishing school."

"I want to hear all about this big change of hers. Well, as much as you're comfortable sharing with me."

Another smile preceded her reply.

"I'm comfortable sharing pretty much everything with you, Anderson."

She hadn't intentionally meant to imply everything, but the way she said it sounded to both of them like that's exactly what she'd meant.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound crass. I was only trying to say that..."

"It's okay. I understand. And just in case you didn't know, I feel the same way. About sharing—everything."

"Oh," she said as her heart began racing again and the feeling of wetness spread.

She finished with the flowers, poured them each a glass of wine, then began explaining about this sudden 'transformation' in her daughter as they sat next to each other on her couch.

"He sounds like a great guy," Anderson said about this new love interest of Caryn's.

"Well, his sister is simply amazing, so it makes sense. Although I do know from personal experience that's not always the case with siblings."

Anderson laughed along with her then said, "How have you been, Alisha?"

It wasn't the wine yet answering him. It was her talking to him straight from the heart.

"Sad. Lonely. Feeling like I made the worst mistake of my life when I let you go," she told him honestly and directly.

"You didn't make a mistake. You did the right thing. Children always have to come first. Even when it isn't easy."

"How can you only be 25?" she asked.

He tried not to smile and said very seriously, "I'm 26 now so I believe that explains it."

Alisha not only smiled, she laughed and said, "I've missed you so much."

He set his glass down, reached for hers then set it down to before turning toward to her as they set side by side on the sofa.

"I've thought about you nearly every hour of every day since I met you," he told her.

The sincerity was so deep and so real it was palpable.

"I've done the same thing, Anderson," she told him as her eyes quickly moved back and forth looking at both of his. Again, she saw only sincerity and integrity and all she could feel coming her way was...love.

"I want to tell you something, but you have to promise not to laugh," he said.

"I won't laugh," she told him as they continued to look into each other's eyes.

"I asked you not to laugh because of my relative youth," he said with a smile.

"Oh. Relative to mine, right?" she said with a smile of her own.

"Well, yes. I suppose that's what I mean."

"What is it? Just tell me," Alisha said. This time, she reached for his hand and Anderson not only gave it to her, he gently squeezed hers as she took it.

"Okay. My relative youth aside...I've been waiting my whole life for you," he told her in no uncertain terms.

"You...you've been waiting for someone like me?" she asked as her heart raced wildly.

"No. That's not what I said," he told her gently and with another smile. "I've met a couple of other women like you, but I knew they weren't the one I was waiting for."

"But you think I am?" she asked.

"No. I don't think, Alisha. I know. I know you are."

She tried to tell him that's exactly how she felt about him, too, but he placed his index finger on her lips and said, "You don't have to understand let alone feel that way back. But that was something I had to tell you before another minute went by."

She reached up with her other hand and took the one of his near her face and held it along with his other hand.

"You're right. I don't have to tell you that," she said as she stared into his eyes.

"Exactly. But you needed to know that's how I feel," he said, unaware she was trying to tell him something else.

"Now you're the one who isn't listening," she said sweetly.

"Oh, sorry. I'm usually pretty good at that. But when I'm around you, thinking clearly gets difficult."

She moved closer then said, "What I was trying to tell you was...I feel that way about you, too."

"You do?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes. I do. Lord knows I've struggled with our um...relative difference in age...but, no matter what that may mean, not being able to see you these last six months was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. So if you could really...feel that way about me, knowing my age..."

She smiled then said, "Relative to yours...then..."

"I do feel that way," he told her. "And since you didn't laugh at what I said before, I'm going to go way out on a limb right now and tell you something else."

He put his hand on her cheek and looked into her eyes as he said, "I love you, Alisha. I've loved you since the first time I kissed you. I know most people would say it takes months to know, but I know already. And what I'm trying to say is..."

Now she put a finger on his lips then said, "Shhhh."

He stopped talking and listened.

Alisha moved very close so that their lips were maybe on inch apart as she quietly said, "I love you, too, Anderson. So you can stop talking and start loving me."

She kissed him softly and as he kissed her back she pulled him close and kissed him like he'd never been kissed before. As their tongues swirled, she began unbuttoning his shirt.

In a husky voice she told him as she pulled it off him, "Make love to me."

He let his shirt fall then put one arm around her back and another under her legs. Without breaking their kiss he picked her up and carried down the only hallway in the house until he found the master bedroom where he carried her to the bed then loved her the way she was dying to be loved.

In bed, Alisha was a force to be reckoned with, and by the time she demanded and finished a third 'go-round', Anderson lay beside her gasping for breath.

"My God! You're insatiable!" he said, only partly teasing.

"You have no idea," she replied, only partly teasing herself as she reached for him yet again.

"Hold on!" he said as he tried not to laugh. "I may be 26, but even I have limits!"

"That's not what I want to hear," she cooed as she snuggled up close to him.

"Sorry, but I'm out of gas."

She laid her head on his chest and said, "That's okay because the last time you ran out of gas was the most wonderful day of my life."

Anderson laughed then pushed her off of himself and rolled her over. He looked down into her eyes and said, "Wait. That was the best day of your life?"

Alisha was happier than she'd ever been in her life, and laughed freely as she reached for him again. When he responded to her touch she said, "Okay. Make that the second best day of my life!"

As he entered her for the fourth time, she moaned with pleasure and said, "Oh, yes. Today is definitely a better day," as they both laughed and loved until he truly was 'out of gas'.

From that day on, nothing but work kept them apart, and yet because Alisha still had to work two jobs, work kept them apart far too often for either of their liking.

After two months of barely being able to see one another, Anderson asked her to move in with him after finally introducing her to his parents. His mom had already shared as much as she knew with her husband, who, like her, only wanted their son to be happy.

Alisha agreed to move in with him with the caveat she would keep her house until Caryn no longer needed to live there. That day came in December, almost a year to the day after she'd insisted on stopping for the guy who'd ran out of gas when her new boyfriend asked her to marry him and live in Ohio.

Two days later, they discussed selling her home while out to dinner at a very nice restaurant in Seattle when Anderson said, "I think that's a great idea. We definitely don't need two places anymore, especially if..."

As Alisha saw him get down on one knee, she started saying, "Oh, my God, oh my God, oh my God..." over and over as her boyfriend opened a small box containing a very large ring.

"A year ago, my life changed forever. For reasons beyond our control, our love had to wait six very long months, but nothing has ever been more worth waiting for," he told her. "And I've loved every moment I've spent with you since."

Alisha was crying and people had stopped eating and were watching as this much-younger man proposed to the very beautiful, older woman sitting near them.

"But there are too many minutes and hours and days I can't spend with you because of the need to work. But if you sell your home, then you wouldn't have to, and if you'll agree to marry me, I promise to love you and provide for you every day of the rest of our lives. So...Alisha Myers, will you..."

He couldn't finish asking because she nearly leapt out of the chair to hug him. As she did, she fell on him, knocking him over backward and landing on top of him. Both of them were laughing hysterically as she shouted, "YES!!" over and over again while onlookers cheered and clapped, and a few of the women cried.

For the brief moment she lay on top of him she asked, "You haven't run out of gas again, have you?"

"I'm not sure how to answer that," he told her.

"Say 'yes'," she told him. "Just like I did to your proposal. I love it when you run out of gas."

"Then...yes," he told her as she shrieked with happiness. She slid off him and while sitting down next to him on the floor he slid the ring on her finger in one of the most unusual proposals of all time.

"I love you, sweetheart," he told her.

"I love you, too," Alisha told him as they embraced while still on the floor and kissed to another round of happy applause.

Caryn left shortly after New Year's to move in with her fiancé, and Alisha put their house up for sale after she and Anderson spent several evenings getting it ready. It was snapped up in no time, and Alisha now had more money than she'd ever seen in her entire life. She was able to quit working all of her jobs, pay for her daughter's wedding, and put down a healthy amount of money on a home she and her own fiancé bought in between Enumscratch and Seattle.

The day she married her handsome young husband was even happier than the first time they made love or when he proposed to her.

At 46, she'd never really thought about even being able to have another child, but after talking to two different doctors who explained the risks, she and her new husband decided to give it a try for a year. If it didn't happen, it didn't happen and that would be just fine.

And yet three months later it did happen, and the day she found out and shared the news with her husband dwarfed all those other happy days combined.

There was never a day that Alisha Coleman didn't give thanks for the unexpected and unbelievable amount of happiness that had come her way at a time in her life when she'd all but given up on ever really being happy again. And then a handsome young man had run out of gas and ended up stranded along the side of a road and changed her life forever.

Now, every day was a happy day, but none more so than the day their beautiful, healthy little girl was born some seven and a half months after Alisha learned she was pregnant.

When she saw her rather stoic husband cry the first time he held their precious baby girl, Alisha cried, too. But her tears were tears of joy, as his having run out of gas that December night had given her a second chance at love and life.

When he gently laid their daughter back in her arms, both Alisha and Anderson finally knew what it meant to be truly happy.