FicWad

The next morning, Allison was on cloud nine. She stayed in bed all morning, trying to extend her fantasy she'd dreamed last night. She dreamt that she'd gotten three pieces of art in a museum, and Andy had kissed her passionately without her doing anything to provoke him. Then, Allison finally realized that it wasn't a dream. Andy had kissed her, and she was hanging in a museum. Allison sank into the sheets and wrapped herself in a cocoon of bed sheets. Life was good, life was VERY good!

"Allison? Get your lazy ass out of bed!" scolded Helene around noon. Allison rolled her eyes and smiled dopily at Helene.

"He kissed me!" she said.

Helene took a step back and rose an eyebrow. "Are you high?" she asked.

"Helene, god! I feel so happy!" said Allison. "You...you wanna go for a walk?" she asked. Helene looked around.

"A walk? At noon? In Pajamas?" asked Helene, confused.

"I'm not in pajamas..." smiled Allison, pulling away the sheet, revealing that she'd never taken off her purple dress. Helene rolled her eyes.

"You are sick! You wanna go walking? Fine, gimme five minutes..."
~~~~~
The day was another sunny delight, but ominous cloud lurked to the west, threatening rain. But they were at least two hours away, they wouldn't be an immediate threat. Allison wore a light black sweater that she'd kept from her youth, and a jungle-green peasant skirt. Helene wore a black wifebeater and jeans. Allison just loved the way people would stare at them in their weird clothes as they walked by. Allison loved the way little girls called her skirts "princess skirts!" Allison loved the way the early afternoon smelled. Life was just a bowl of cherries. Helene, on the other hand, was confused.
"Allison, sit down, I think you may need a rest!" Helene said, sitting down with Allison on a bench. Helene put her arm on Allison' shoulder. "Why are you so perky? Yesterday still not worn off yet?"

Allison smiled. "Andy kissed me, Helene!"

"Ooh? Are you back in love with him?" asked Helene. Allison frowned and shook her head.

"Oh no! It's just, I haven't been kissed in so damn long! I'd forgotten how good a kiss felt! Andy was the last kiss I had before last night, and it was reliving the days before he left. Such fun days, Helene! Oh god, times have changed. Ten years ago, Andy and I, along with three others, were a bunch of nut heads who went out to conquer the world! Back then, we thought we'd be together forever!" Allison sulked a bit.

"Ally, nothing can last forever, even a group of stupid teenagers know that!"

Allison felt a tear go to her eye. She never hoped she'd grow old enough to say something of that sort. Helene's heart had died. She was an adult. It truly WAS an unavoidable! Allison wept. Helene realized she'd said something wrong.

"Oh god, Ally! I'm sorry! I don't know what I said, but I'm sorry I said it!" Allison sat up and nodded.

"I know. It's just, we were so confident that nothing would tear us apart! Two of us went to college, and one of us just got up and left. Me and this other girl, Claire, were all that remained of five strong. Claire and I never left each other's sight from that March on. But, July the following year, I said to myself, 'he's not coming back for me.' I couldn't stick around just for Claire. I had nothing. I left a note for her, and another for my mother and brothers (like they'd care I was gone anyways) and I hopped on an eastbound bus and never came back," Allison described.

"That little shit abandoning you for a Polly Pocket with Real Plastic Breasts was downright horrible," said Helene.

"It's been such a ride when he came back into my life. I feel alive again. I've woken from the dead, Helene. Andy's a wonderful man, he just is hiding behind a wall of solid gold," Allison woefully admitted.

"You ever find out what happened to your other friends?" Helene asked.

"Nope. Not since I left have I heard about Brian, Bender, or Claire," Allison answered. "Just Andy."

"You still love him, right?" Helene asked. Allison looked at Helene wide-eyed.

"Oh for the love of god, no! Helene, I can't!"

Helene rolled her eyes. "If this is because of his fiancée, Morticia Adams, I'll gladly-"

"-it's not!"

"Then why can't you just admit it?" asked Helene.

"Because, HELENE! I need to learn to move on! Andy has, I need to get out and learn to fall in love again! To date, to marry, I need to stop living in the past!" Allison protested.

"Yeah, because you've done such a good job with it so far! As long as I've known you, you haven't had a single date!"

"Give me a break! I do NOT love him! I did once upon a time, but he doesn't love me even if I did!" Allison got up and began walking again. Helene caught up.

"If he doesn't subconsciously love you, then why did he kiss you last night?" she asked.

"He was apologizing! He'd pissed me off and he was apologizing!" Allison excused.

"Ally, darling, I've been in the US 12 years, and I don't see any American custom of making out as a way to apologize!"

Allison stayed quiet. Then she burst, "We WEREN'T making out!"

"Was there tongue?" asked Helene. Allison grunted. Oh there was tongue and a damn lot of it for a moment...

"A little bit," admitted Allison.

"Ally. You love him. And you're never gonna feel better about it if you don't TELL him about it!"

Allison found a small oak and sat beneath it. Helene sat beside her. It was a tree very close to this one that Allison had lost her virginity under. Andy had driven Allison out to the country in early June 1984. They'd spent the day laughing and goofing around. But it began raining heavily that afternoon, and they'd retreated to under an oak tree. Andy had two blankets, one he set beneath them, and one over them. Allison wiped a drop of rain from Andy's cheek, and he began kissing her fingers. There were some hesitations, and yeah it wasn't a revolving bed with feather-stuffed pillows and rose petals, but it was still extremely romantic. Allison knew then that the movies lied. When people did it in the movies, it was slow and almost choreographed, and there was no panting or sweating. No moaning either. Not to mention the movies didn't show any of the foreplay part. Allison's experience was just the opposite. Allison's experience was better than any movie. It was reality. Andy had been gentle with her, but it still hurt a bit when they finally consummated. Still, it was an incredibly beautiful experience. Afterwards, unlike people's warnings, nothing changed between her and Andy. They were still deeply in love. No awkwardness. But they never had sex again before Andy left.

So here, when women her age were already mothers, Allison had made love a whopping one time. Even Helene had a pregnancy scare at one point (turns out it was just a late period). Allison had sometimes craved that feeling within her again that she had under that tree a decade ago.

It was then Allison finally realized it. She'd loved Andy all along and had waited out just for him.

Allison smiled at Helene. "I love him," she said.

"You what?" asked Helene.

"I do, Helene! I love Andrew Clark!" Allison felt a huge weight being lifted off her chest.

"Then tell him!" suggested Helene.

"Right now?" asked Allison.

"YES! He's home right now, right?"

"Yeah, it's Sunday!" said Allison.

"Then go to him and confess!" said Helene excitedly. Allison got up.

"His apartment's a damn long ways! But I don't care!" Allison was excited. She was ready. She was so ready!

"Go! I'll meet you at home! Tell me how it went!" Helene said. Allison ran off and waved. Helene nodded. "Better hurry," she called out. "It's gonna rain heavy soon!" Allison disappeared down the path.

Interesting how long it took for her to realize something that was obvious from the start.