The In Betweens

The Art of Change

      They tumbled out the door, in a half embrace. Him trying to pull the door shut, she hopping while holding to his arm, struggling with a wayward high heel. Both neatly disheveled. It was the height of summer in South Georgia, so it was more tan skin than  layers, and more about wanton touch than the lack of fabric.
      Both phones sounded simultaneously. Dani, answered hers first, holding her heel with one hand, while hopping on one shoed foot, her phone flopping precariously in the other hand.
       "We're coming! We're coming!" She said, Exasperated. Something about Star taking shots, and Mark dancing with someone was being yelled over the prevalent bass in the background. "We're coming!!"She yelled this time. "We tried to find you for dinner, (an elephant of a white lie) but we couldn't find The Shack, and when we did it was awfully cro..", her voice trailed with the realization that the other party had hung up. "Guess we should hurry" she said with a knowing grin and a head nod.
      He sent his call to voicemail, knowing that the same background bass and questioning voice, only the male version , bellowed on the other end.
        "Ha! You're right Pid" he smiled as he begin to walk at a brisk pace. "The natives are restless. Guess it's hard to throw a party when the party is falling In love." The words felt awkward before he could get the sentence out completely. She grabbed his neck and turned his head in mid stride. She kissed him deeply. He closed his eyes instinctively, almost causing him to lose his balance.
       "I got you!" She laughed as he stumbled the last foot to the elevator, his face still turned towards her.
        'Oh, she had him' he thought. For the first time in his personal history, someone finally caught him.

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Asher fumbled momentarily as he searched for the round button imprinted with a monogram "L", for lobby. He carelessly hit the "1" and the L simultaneously, as the elevator began to descend. Dani rolled her eyes perceptibly, and tugged gently at the untucked hem of Asher's crisp white shirt. He turned and kissed her gently on the forehead, stopping only as the doors parted to reveal a sun baked couple with two swim suit clad children, one at each hip. One clasping a partially deflated pink unicorn float, the other sporting over sized goggles struggling with a sand dappled boogie board. Dani smiled at the boy, garnering a an unfiltered "that's a pretty lady dad", from the young joiner. Dani sighed, a bit content, as she ran her hand the length of Asher's broad shoulders. After some Mumbled apologies and awkward repositioning the doors closed and shortly reopened to the bright white marble of the airy lobby.
They floated hand in hand past the front desk clerk, as he calmly collected signatures and license plate numbers from a snow birding couple. The gentleman, a wavy shock of freshly combed silver hair, turned to acknowledge the bell of the closing elevator. His smiling blue eyes met Asher's with a knowing grin. The older man was reminiscing now, and he clasped his wife's careworn hand a little tighter, as memories of a trip from decades ago flashed through his mind. The old man's love caught the scene at a glance, and gently gave her husband's chest three knowing pats, before turning to accept their room keys. Dani smiled warmly up at Asher. It was the beginning and it was perfect.