Page 181 of Wicked Fantasies

As Faith glanced at the car’s clock, she was shocked to discover it was only nine-thirty. It seemed like she and Troy had lived a lifetime in the past few hours. She laughed to herself when she realized they actually had. They rode without speaking for several minutes, letting the radio fill the silence.

As they drove back into town, Faith looked at Troy. “What’s next?”

“Well, the little detour down Watkins’ Lane sort of threw a wringer into my plans, but it’s nothing we can’t work with.” He pulled up in front of Grace United Methodist Church.

“Was tonight a little bit too much for you? Feeling the need to pray for forgiveness of your sins?” she joked.

“Sex with you is never a sin. More like a gift straight from God. You don’t really need me to tell you why we’re here, do you?”

She shook her head. “We got married here. I’d never forget that.”

“Yeah, well. There was a church social going on until about nine o’clock. Pastor Gregory said we were welcome to come to it and maybe walk around the sanctuary, relive the wedding day part.”

Faith tried to work up a bit of guilt about messing with his plans, but she couldn’t seem to produce the feeling. “Oops. Sorry.”

He laughed. “No, you’re not.”

“Looks like the social’s over.”

Troy glanced at the dark church. “Yep. Locked up for the night. Guess that means we’ll just have to skip this part and move to the next item on the list.”

“Which is?”

He pulled the truck back on to the road, gesturing to the photo album still lying on the dashboard. “Why don’t you turn the page and find out?”

Faith opened the photo album and laughed at the picture on the next page. It was a photograph she’d taken of Troy the night of their wedding. He’d taken off his shirt, but pulled the suspenders on his tuxedo pants back up to be silly. He was flexing his muscles for the camera. Reflected in the mirror behind him was the image of her, still in her wedding dress, taking the picture and laughing.

She glanced up as he pulled into the parking lot of the only hotel in Carlysle.

He looked over at her and smiled. “Honeymoon. Read the letter and then you have a promise to keep.”

“Promise?”

“Something about me getting lucky.”

She laughed. “I thought you already did.”

“That was just the appetizer.” Troy tugged on her ponytail playfully. “Now I’m going in for the main courseanddessert.”

Faith smiled, and then looked down to read her next letter.

Faith,

When I look back at this picture, I’m amazed to recall how young we were when we got married. Back then, it didn’t seem strange to get married at twenty and yet, I can’t believe our folks didn’t go through the roof when we suggested it. Instead, your mother made you that pretty white dress and my mom baked a cake for the reception, while our family and friends gathered around us to wish us well. Jackson turned twenty-one last month and I know without a shadow of a doubt if the boy said he wanted to get married, I’d tell him he’s too young.

We were young, Faith, but when I think about it, I realize my feelings for you now haven’t changed through the years. Our love ran hotter than a furnace when we first got married and I can remember rushing through the days at work, just so I could run home to you.

I became a man in your arms, physically and emotionally. When I left my parents’ home, I was an idealistic boy with more plans than brains, more grand schemes than money. We grew up together—you and I—struggling to pay the rent, to keep food on the table, to adjust to living away from home.

That first year was tough. I was working two shitty jobs—both for minimum wage, while you spent your days stuck in our tiny apartment, taking care of other people’s kids. We ate a lot of macaroni and cheese! Then my mother got cancer and passed away. The night she died, you stayed up with me all night, talking to me, holding me. You were the glue that held me together, kept me moving forward. My parents raised me with their values, but you’re the one who taught me what those values meant. You showed me how to walk the walk and how to live inside my own skin. You never stopped believing in me, in our future, in our dreams.

I flexed my muscles for you the night of our honeymoon, tried to impress you with my brawn, but the truth is you’re my strength. Without you, I’d be nothing.

Troy

Chapter Four

Faith stood in the doorway and looked around the hotel room. She couldn’t believe Troy had managed to get the exact same room they’d stayed in twenty-five years ago. “Looks like they’ve done some renovations recently.”

---