Of Time and Eternity

Today I drove out to Suzanne's. Before leaving, I had to call for directions.

"O God, I am so excited!" she exclaimed. "I was afraid you wouldn't come. It will take you about forty-five minutes to get here. When will you leave?"

"Just after lunch."

"I have news to tell you." "Another dream?"

"No. About my job. Mother and I will have tea waiting. Hurry," she whispered in a cooing voice.

It took a little over fifty minutes to find their gravel and cinder lane that led back to the house. After bumping through a number of puddled ruts and passing under the limbs of several huge live oaks as well as some cedars and pines draped with Spanish moss, I arrived at their place. It was an old planter's mansion, two stories tall, with peeling, white, concrete columns, a wide front porch, and a steep green roof with a white cupola.

I parked the car and mounted the steps, both briskly and breathlessly. I rang the bell and waited on the porch. A muslin curtain provided privacy from anyone staring through the glass of the front door. I saw the curtain twitch, just before the door was opened.

Suzanne was smiling and took me by the hand. She had drawn her hair up in a net and was wearing a garnet-red blouse and a black skirt. She had a silk scarlet flower pinned in her hair. She pursed her lips for me to kiss; I could feel the tip of her tongue with my own.