Copyright 2000 by Elizabeth Delayne
Erica took book from the clerk and slipped the change into the pocket of her shorts. She couldn't help but smile. The airline attendant had thought her looney when she'd rushed into the airport to purchase an expensive spur of the moment ticket that morning, all just to see the husband she had parted from two days before. Maybe she was a little looney, but she was very much in love.
The line was long, as usual. The critiques for this book had been mixed. It was a little different. A mixture of cynicism with hope. Others said he'd lost his touch.
But looking at the line, and watching the people in discussion . . . goatee schalors and the like, she deduced his fan base was strong enough. Erica went and stood at the end and waited as she had the first time.
The line was full of his fans, she thought, but he only had one wife.
She held her hand out and looked at the diamonds as they sparkled back at her from her wedding set. They'd been married coming up on two years.
What would all those men with their brainy looking goatees think if they knew Jonathon Burstin's wife was in line with them?
She thought about that bookstore in Atlanta. She'd been attracted, but clueless to the man Jonathon really was.
Turning the hardback over, she ran her hand over the raised lettering. Possibilities
It was a title, she thought, that spoke volumes . . . not just to the character's in the book, or the changes in his life, but to the changes inside of him.
Erica had already read the book. Jonathon had surprised her with it, flying in to meet her while she was on a business trip. He'd been with Amy for nearly a week, going over details for another book that he had just finished.
He'd come to her hotel room, late in the evening, calling her from his cell phone even as he stood outside the door. He'd given her the first copy, his eyes alight with love and hope as he'd opened it to the dedication page.
She flipped to it now and smiled. For the first time Jonathon Burstin had dedicated his book to a living person. She ran a finger over the words now as she read them:To my wife,
I think God everyday
that He saw fit to bless me
with these possibilities.
~your Jonathon
Erica smiled, and held the book to her chest. If she loved him anymore, she was afraid she'd explode.
She nearly laughed aloud at her own private joke, giddy with happiness. She could see the headlines now: Mrs. Burstin Burst!
As the line moved along she opened the book and began to read the words already familiar to her.
Jonathon looked up and smiled when he saw his wife. She should have been in Philadelphia today, but he wasn't shocked to see her. They'd learned over the last twp years to rearrange their schedules, to make time for the important things . . . each other and their church, or churches seeing that they seemed to spend as much time in Illinois with Jonathon's father as they did in Louisiana with Erica's mother.
He smiled at the next person in line and took his book, fully aware of Erica's presence, then and over the next thirty minutes.
When she reached the table he smiled and reached for the book. Erica only held it back, "Can I borrow your pen, Mr. Burstin?"
Smiling, Jonathon handed it to her.
"I just think that for someone who never dedicates his books to real people, it's a great romantic thing when he does it for his wife," she said, opening the book to the dedication page and writing her own message.
"She'd very beautiful."
"And she loves you very much."
Amy looked across the store at him, and seeing Erica, rolled her eyes. He just smiled, and lifted his eyes back up toward his wife. The rest of his fans would have to wait.
With a great scrawl, she capped the pen and handed it and the book to Jonathon. "I'll see you later."
"Wait," he reached out, grabbed her hand, and drew her around the table. "You're leaving already?"
"I know where your hotel room is. I have my sources."
The look in her eyes sparkled with joy. Jonathon only tightened his grip on her hand and opened the book himself.To my Jonathon:
Thank you for all the possibilities.
The blessings grow daily.
I love you with all my heart.
~your wife,
and soon to be mother
Erica
It took a moment, but it finally sunk in. He tugged Erica into his lap as he laughed.
And for the first time ever, Jonathon Burstin's fans, used to such a private and solemn man, got to see him kiss his bride.
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