Love is all around you
Love is knockin'
Outside your door
Waiting for you
Is this love made just for two
Keep an open heart
And you'll find love again
I know…
Tesla, “Love Song”
Isaac woke up the next morning, and turned over to
look at Taryn, who was still asleep.
He propped himself up on his elbow, and just thought about how happy he was to wake up with her next to him. She looks so peaceful, he thought.
He knew, of course, that Taryn was right and that no one should be making any rash moves right now. When he looked back on it, Isaac could not believe that he had even brought up the possibility of Taryn moving to Oklahoma. Real smooth, man, he thought to himself. He hoped that he hadn’t scared her.
Isaac had told Taylor about everything that had happened between him and Taryn in New York, although not in the greatest detail. Isaac had absolutely no regrets about having taken his relationship with Taryn to the next level; in fact, he was glad that it had happened.
But as he had told Taylor, the thing that he was having some difficulty dealing with now was the separation and the not knowing when they were going to be together.
“It’s funny, because once you’ve spent the night with someone like that, it’s almost hard to sleep alone,” Isaac had explained to Taylor. “There’s nothing like having someone in bed with you all night, and then waking up next to them.”
Taylor had grinned. “I guess I wouldn’t know about that.”
“It is so weird,” Isaac said, shaking his head. “It was all really surreal, like I was outside of myself or something. But I remember all the little things that made it special.”
Isaac had written all the details he had tried so hard to remember in a journal. He had noted the smells of perfume, how the sheets and the carpet felt, the scent of the sheets and the candle, the music, and what Taryn’s room looked like. And of course, he had written in great detail about the actual experience; about how he loved Taryn more now than ever because they had shared something so special.
Isaac knew that a lot of people his age, and even younger, both male and female, just had sex for the first time because it was the thing to do or because they got drunk at a party and fell into bed. He realized that that had happened to Taryn. He knew he was very fortunate to have had his first experience within the bonds of a loving relationship, with someone whose feelings he truly cared about and who cared about his.
Something that Taryn didn’t know was that Isaac had lifted some of her perfume.
While she was showering on the Monday Isaac returned to Tulsa, he had quickly sniffed all of her perfume bottles, and decided which one smelled the most like her. The fragrance name was “Splendor,” and Isaac tried to remember that.
Just to be safe, he liberally sprayed one of his t-shirts with it and stuffed it hastily into his carry-on.
When he returned to Tulsa, he had tucked the t-shirt in his bottom dresser drawer, and when he was missing Taryn more than usual, he would take it out and smell it.
He shared this with Taylor, who was impressed with his brother’s resourcefulness.
“What are you going to do when the smell wears off?” Taylor had asked.
Isaac had shrugged. “Probably go down to the mall and get a handful of those cardboard scent samples from the perfume counter.”
Taryn stirred in bed next to Isaac, and when she opened her eyes, he was looking right into them.
“Good morning,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.
Taryn let out a soft moan. “Oh, God, it’s morning already,” she said. “Where do the nights go?”
Isaac grinned. “You were here. I think you know.”
Taryn cuddled up to Isaac. “Let’s just stay in the hotel all day and skip the party,” she suggested hopefully.
“You’re not still uptight about that, are you?” Isaac asked.
Taryn sighed. “A little. I’ve always nerve-bagged about the parent thing.”
“Well, don’t this time. It’s gonna be great.”
“If you say so.”
“I say so.”
Iris and Melissa came bounding through the door, fully dressed and ready for another day.
“We’re starved!” Iris exclaimed, pouncing on the bed.
Isaac got out of bed.
“Just let me get dressed, and I’ll take you out,” he said. He looked at Taryn. “And maybe we could bring something back for Mom so she could have a little down time.”
Taryn looked at Isaac gratefully. For whatever reason, he was beginning to be able to read her like a book.
