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Date Posted: 03:11:27 09/07/01 Fri
Author: Lakota
Subject: Waiting for You - Chapter 26A

Waiting for You – Chapter 26


Saturday, March 11th, 1944 – 11:00am – Carrie’s apartment

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Sami finished brushing her hair as she sat at the vanity table in what had been Jennifer’s room until a week ago. Glancing at her watch she hurriedly tied the scarf around her head – holding her pageboy hairstyle back from her face. It was navy blue with white polka dots and matched the flair-legged pants she wore. Her middy blouse in white with the square sailor collar decorated with an anchor in blue on each of the corners gave her a youthful look. Reaching for the tube of Raven Red lipstick she put the finishing touch to her ensemble. Happy with the results of her carefully planned look for this special day, she dashed for the bedroom door only to nearly trip over Guinevere as she lay in the hall.

“Oh, golly, Guinevere, are you trying to get stepped on? I don’t know why you always have to be in the MIDDLE of the hall. Are you afraid you’re going to miss something, hmmmmmm?”

While admonishing the unconcerned feline, Sami picked her up, walked into the living room and noticed her sister’s weekend bag was placed beside the front door. Light thundershowers continued as they had the previous two days. It made it dark in the apartment though it was nearing noon. Sami turned on the switch of the standing lamp near Guinevere’s favorite off-limits chair and put the cat down as she went to stoke the logs she had put on the fire just before dressing. Sami walked to the kitchen and checked to see if the chicken she had taken out a couple hours earlier was thawing in the sink. She had promised Lucas a home cooked meal as part of their weekend together rather than going out. Somehow, she had a sense they would not be leaving the apartment for some time. She heard the faint honking of a car horn and rushed to the living room to see if what she suspected was true. Looking down from the window into the street that ran in front of the apartment building, she saw a bright yellow cab parked at the curb. It seemed even a brighter shade of yellow against the dark, wet street. Emerging from the back of the cab was Lucas with his duffel bag resting on his shoulder while he talked to the cab driver. He looked up at the second story window and saw Sami wave to him. It never ceased to make his heart skip a beat to once again see her smile at him the instant he was identifiable to her. Four years had been a long time to only dream about such moments ever possibly happening again. He never would take them for granted.

“Carrie, Lucas is here,” Sami shouted in the general direction of Carrie’s bedroom.

“Oh, already? I still have to find the shoes I want to wear with this outfit.”

“Oh, honestly, Carrie…….you and you shoes, I swear. Let me go down and tell him to keep the meter running….that you’re just about ready. Like you said - there’s no sense calling another cab when you can use the one Lucas came in to take you back to the ferry landing.”

“Would you do that, please, Sami? I’ve found one shoe……..where IS the other one?,” came Carrie’s muffled voice as she hunted through the bottom of her closet in search of her matching brown pump.

Sami shook her head as she looked toward her sister’s room. She grabbed an umbrella from the circular stand where all the umbrellas were kept and headed down the hall and steps. Opening the front door of the apartment building quickly made apparent how cold a day it was. It wouldn’t surprise her if the rain turned to snow with very little provocation.

“Hey, Sweetheart,” Lucas called to her breaking away from the lively conversation he appeared to be having with the cabby.

“Hi, Honey,” Sami barely uttered her greeting before she felt herself enveloped by Lucas’ unoccupied arm as he kissed her. The speed with which he’d grabbed her took her off guard and rather than cover them both with the umbrella as she’d intended, Sami stabbed him in the forehead with an umbrella point.

“Owwwww!”

“OH, darling, I’m so sorry……I didn’t mean to bash you with the umbrella.”

“Really? Geez, I hate to think what it would have been like if you had meant to,” Lucas kidded as he rubbed his hand across the right side of his forehead. “Have you been checked out to use that weapon?”

“Well, no – I don’t even have a license to bash,” Sami retorted holding the umbrella higher to avoid a repeat of the offense.

“Where is your sister? I’d like to get out of the rain and into the apartment before you accidentally hit me with the umbrella again. I could lose consciousness, suffer amnesia and forget why I came here,” Lucas said as he smiled a knowing smile at Sami.

“Yeah, I doubt that would happen no matter how many times you got hit on the noggin’. Well, you’ve known her a long time….what do you think is keeping her?”

“Oh, brother….why doesn’t she put whatever pair she’s planning to wear beside the front door the night before she goes to bed?”

“I guess it would spoil the thrill of the hunt? Anyway, before I came down she asked if the cabby would keep the meter running until she found her shoes.”

“Has she got that much money?”

“Lucas…stop it. I know she’d found one shoe before I came down here so it shouldn’t be long….”

“….I’m here, I’m here!” shouted a slightly out-of-breath Carrie as she emerged from the apartment building with her suitcase in hand, trying to juggle her purse and umbrella in the other. She set her bag down on the street as she prepared to hunt for her wallet. As she did so the umbrella slipped in her hand and fell forward finding the same target as Sami’s had earlier.

“Oh, sorry, Lucas.”

Looking at Sami he shook his head slightly. “What is it with Brady women and umbrellas? Is this a tag team event or what?”

“Lucas, you’re not hurt that badly…it only hit you in the head.”

“Yeah, let’s be grateful it wasn’t my big toe…you know, something really important, a vital organ.”

“What are you two going on about?”

“Oh, nothing….”

“Sorry, I took so long. I finally found my other shoe under the living room sofa. I thought it was in the closet but suddenly I remembered I had used it as a hammer to drive the nail in the wall when I was hanging up that little painting Marlena sent for Christmas.”

“You’d better get a move on, Carrie. Didn’t you say you were meeting the guy you’re interviewing a little after one?”

“What?….oh, the interview…yes, I think it’s scheduled for one o’ clock.”

“Well, you look nice for it.”

“Thanks, Lucas. I’d better go. Thanks again, Sami, for staying and taking care of Guinevere.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem. Good luck, Carrie…”

“What for? Oh…….you mean for the interview. Yeah, I hope it goes well after all the planning I’ve done.”

“I’m sure it will, Carrie.”

“Thanks, Lucas. Well, okay, you two have fun this weekend.”

“We will,” Sami said as she embraced her sister.

“Bye, Lucas.”

“See ya, Carrie. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do twice.”

“What??”

“OH, I just meant…..try to have some fun this weekend…..in between interviews…that’s all I meant.”

Sami stood behind her sister and rolled her eyes before placing her fingers over them and shaking her head.

Carrie climbed into the cab and gave the address to the driver. Lucas placed her bag in the back seat on the floor, closed the car door firmly and stepped back. Carrie waved from the cab as it slowly pulled away from the curb. Lucas and Sami stood and waved until the car mingled into the corner street traffic and disappeared leaving them looking after it in silence.

“She’s going to meet Mike, isn’t she,” Lucas stated rather than asked.

“Without a doubt. Come on, Lucas. Let’s get in out of the rain. It’s cold out here.”

“Sounds good to me…besides, I want you to fold up that umbrella. You scare me with that thing.”

Sami giggled as with hands intertwined they climbed the steps and closed out the damp day behind the front door of the apartment building.

Another roaring clap of thunder shook the windows as Sami and Lucas closed the door of the apartment that separated it from the hall. Guinevere hunkered low to the carpeted floor and sought refuge near Lucas’ immaculately polished shoes. Lucas began lowering the duffel bag from his shoulder when Sami noticed what he was doing.

“Wait, before you put that down, let me get a sheet of newspaper to put under it. It’s still wet from being outside.”

She went to the brass bin adjacent to the fireplace and withdrew the New York Times sections used as kindling. She opened and placed the double sheets next to the bench situated by the front door. Lucas lowered the duffel bag. He removed his cap and ran his hand through his luxurious dark hair erasing the slightly visible line made by the edge of his military hat where its perimeter rested.

“Why don’t you stand by the fire and warm up while I get us a cup of coffee?”

“Sounds good if I can only have the cat surgically removed from my instep. I venture to guess thunder is not on her list of favorite natural phenomena?”

“She’s terrified of it. The best thing is to pick her up and let her calm down.”

Sami headed for the kitchen to get the coffee. Lucas stared down into the green eyes of his seemingly newest close friend who continued to visibly quake.

Lucas had always secretly loved animals having never been allowed to have a pet of his own as a child. They were considered by his mother to be too much of a bother and just something to clean up after. He now sometimes wondered if as he grew older Kate hadn’t held the same opinion of him. She loved him but only if he behaved well and didn’t fight the emotional leash she used to keep him by her side. He lifted the cat into the crook of his right arm and petted her as he walked to the fireplace. Lucas turned his back to the radiating warmth and gazed about the apartment feeling more at home in its cozy confines than he ever had in the cavernous rooms of the Kiriakis mansion. Another roar of thunder rolled above. Guinevere buried her head between Lucas’ forearm and his chest while quivering in terror. He brought the cat closer to his chin and held her tightly with both arms. To his surprise she purred and rested her chin in the area between his left thumb and pointing finger.

“You two seem to be bonding nicely,” Sami said as she brought a pair of green mugs filled with steaming coffee.

“She’s just afraid of the thunder and having someone hold her is all she needs to know everything is all right.”

Sami set the mugs on the coffee table and walked around it to stand beside Lucas.

“You are the biggest softy I’ve ever known.”

“I’m not being soft. I’m just…..well…”

“Did I ever tell you it’s one of the traits I love about you and find very hard to resist?”

“So…soft is good?”

“Very good.”

“Oh.”

Sami leaned up into his face and kissed him – running her fingers through his hair and nibbling along his jaw line until she reached his ear. Her ministrations to his earlobe made him aware his accelerated heart rate was directly proportionate to the number of times she lightly bit it. She pulled back and gazed into his eyes.

“Contrary to what you might be thinking, that purr you hear isn’t Guinevere’s.”

Sami smiled and led him toward the sofa where the coffee had begun to cool off unlike the people who were about to drink it. Lucas lowered the cat to the sofa and sat down as Sami handed one mug to him before seating herself beside him. They sipped to test for the scald factor of the liquid.

“That is good stuff. Better than the swill they pass off in mess hall at the post.”

“Eric mentioned how bad the coffee was on board ship, too.”

“I don’t know why making a good cup of coffee is a mystery to the army, …navy, too, apparently.”

“Well, it’s better than that Postum stuff Grandma and Grandpa drink as a coffee substitute…I….”

“Sami……I don’t want to talk about coffee.”

“Okay, …………what do you want to talk about?”

“Nothing….I don’t want to talk about anything.”

Sami looked into Lucas’ chocolate-colored eyes and nodded. He leaned back toward the sofa arm causing Guinevere to jump over to the seat cushion of her favorite chair. Lucas loosened the knot of his tie as Sami undid the gold buttons of his jacket intently aware of the shaking of her fingers as she did so. Lifting his hands to the sides of her face, Lucas brought Sami closer to him as her body aligned with his. Small kisses increased in frequency and intensity. The scarf holding her hair back was removed allowing it to fall forward and envelop their faces in its softness. He ran his thumbs along her jaw line - following their invisible trail with his mouth.

“Lucas?”

“Mmmmm?”

“This……mmmm….isn’t ….really what I ……mmmmmmm….had in mind.”

Lucas continued his exploration of her neck without a hesitation.

“Lucas?”

“mmmmm….hmmmm…”

“Did you hear…what …….I……..ohhhh….said?”

“hmmmmm…..mmmmmmm.”

“Well, I said…….”

She abruptly sat up briefly glimpsing Lucas’s eyes closed before he opened him in surprise and disappointment.

“Sorry, but I can’t think about what I was going to say when you keep doing that.”

“Okay…….I’m sorry?”

“No….no, it isn’t that I want you to stop…..completely.”

Lucas stared at her and had no clue what was happening.

“You want me to stop….partially?”

“Kind of.”

“Sami, I was joking. I have no idea how to do that, at least, not given the way I’m feeling at the moment.”

“Me, too, but …never mind. It’s better if I just do this.”

She placed her hands on his chest and lifted herself from the sofa. Standing between the couch and the coffee table, she reached for his hand and encouraged him to rise from the sofa as well. As he stood facing her, still bewildered by Sami’s intention, she slid the jacket down his arms and lightly tossed it across the back cushions of the sofa. She stepped out of her shoes and pulled Lucas’ tie from around his neck – flinging it on top of the discarded jacket. He could only stand and watch Sami as she reached for his hand and began leading him toward the hall. They soon stood before the doorway leading to the bedroom when Sami turned to Lucas and rising on tiptoes gently placed her arms about him. A warm, slow, gentle kiss was lovingly given before she stepped back and encouraged him with her eyes and smile to follow her. Lucas followed – closing the door behind them.

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The rain pattered against the bedroom windowpane driven by the wind accompanying the latest band of showers passing overhead.

Sami heard it but made no effort to move. Her cheek rested against Lucas’ bare chest as she lightly brushed her hand across his stomach. Her body lay partially atop his. Neither had spoken for some time, perfectly willing to simply be with one another.

“Lucas?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you awake?”

“No, I’m talking in my sleep.”

“Very funny.”

Five minutes passed.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, anything ….except about asking me to move.”

“No, that wasn’t what I wanted to ask you.”

“Okay, then ask away.”

Sami raised her head, rested her chin briefly on her closed hand and looked up the length of his well-defined torso.

Lucas had kept his eyes closed though he was awake. His left arm was bent behind his head while his right hand languidly ran up and down Sami’s silken-skinned back. Instinctively, he knew he was being watched and opened his eyes to see Sami staring at him with a pensive expression.

“What?”

Sami’s face reflected her seriousness about what she wanted to ask.

“Do I look different?”

“I don’t know how to answer that. Different from what?”

She hesitated, took a deep breath and returned her direct gaze to Lucas.

“You know…….different.”

Lucas prided himself on reading Sami better than almost anyone except for those in her immediate family but at the moment his radar wasn’t picking up any sonar blips about what she was asking him….or why.

“Well, you do look different from any other time I’ve ever been with you.”

“I do?” How?”

“I’ve never seen you in what you’re not wearing before. Somehow, I never thought anyone could be that beautiful wearing only an engagement ring but you’ve shown me I was wrong.”

“Don’t make jokes.”

“I’m not …..Sami, you’re beautiful.”

“But, do I look the same?”

“No, I already told you, you’re more beautiful.”

“That’s not what I’m asking….”

“….then what are you asking me? I’m sorry, I really don’t understand.”

“Do I look different…”

“Than what?”

“Than……….I did before we came in here? I mean, can you look at me and tell that I’m not………not….the same?”

Understanding began to dawn inside Lucas’ brain.

“No…..honey,….no . Why would you think someone could merely look at you and know you’ve just made love for the first time.”

“I don’t know….I guess because I feel differently. Whenever I was bad as a kid and I tried to hide something I’d done from Mom or John, they’d tell me it was useless for me to deny it because it was written all over my face.”

“Wait a second,” Lucas said as he sat up and held Sami by her arms as she sat back on her heels. “Are you telling you’re feeling what we did was wrong and you want to deny something happened just like when you were a kid? ”

“Not exactly.”

Lucas heard his breath exhale in a sigh of relief.

“That’s what it sounded like but if that’s not what you meant then …”

“It’s you……I’m afraid I’ll look differently to you…that you won’t think the same about me. Let’s face it with all the girls you’ve probably …well, you know, I’m undoubtedly not the most experienced one. I’m bound to have been a disappointment….”

“Hey…..hey……”

“…and now, you’ll look at me and think that maybe not only wasn’t this a good idea but maybe asking me to marry you wasn’t either…..”

“ …Sami…”

“…and, I’ll understand, really I will….but I don’t know if I can let you go…”

“…let me go?’’

“Yes, at least not right away.”

Sami’s head dropped as she began to cry, covering her face with her hands. Lucas incredulously stared at her as he searched inside himself to find the words that could even begin to tell her how he felt.

“Sami……Sweetheart……Darling…I…I….please, don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it…..I’m sorry I disappointed you.”

“Wh…Why do you think I’m disappointed?”

“Oh come on, Lucas. How could you not be? I read books and stuff this past week…to kind of, well, see if I could apply them…..to…today.”

“Books? What kind of books, Honey?” Lucas leaned forward and gently pulled her hands from her face. His heart broke to see the tears streaming down her cheeks. It was something he had promised himself to never be responsible for doing to her again.

“Well, I kind of had to sneak off by myself to the library…..”

“Uh-huh.”

“I read parts of ‘Lady Chatterly’s Lover’ and ‘Fanny Hill.’ I also tried to remember the talks Mom gave Carrie and me when we were teenagers. I just really wanted you to feel the way they described how the men in the books did. Let’s face it, I failed. I’m not good enough for you….you just won’t be happy or satisfied with me….”

“ …all right, that’s enough of that. Sami, those are fiction….romances…..”

“How do you know? Did you read them?”

Lucas grinned and looked slyly at her.

“Yeah, I took a peek at them in the library at the mansion. I almost got caught, too.”

“Okay, so you know what I’m talking about.”

“Look…..that’s fantasy…..what we have done in this room is reality and what is real to me is how much more I love you than I did an hour ago.”

“You don’t have to say that.”

“I do have to say it. I have to because it’s the truth and our agreement is no more lies between us ever. For some reason you think I’ve been with a lot of girls and it isn’t true. Having said that, yes, this wasn’t the first time for me in some ways but in another very significant way, it was.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t …..couldn’t… hold back anything. I’ve always done that in the past. With you, I gave you my heart, all the love I have been saving up for years to give to you… and only you. I have never felt anything like that before. That’s why I’ve been so quiet. It’s the most incredible feeling in the world. I’m not disappointed, Sami,….far from it. All I could think was that this is just the beginning of the most wonderful life with you…it’s right….it’s all I’ll ever want.”

Sami unblinkingly stared at him as he spoke – tears slipping from her face to the bed linens.

“Wait…maybe you’re the one who’s disappointed. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“No……no…Lucas.”

Sami reached forward and brushed his hair back from his forehead as she absorbed what he had told her.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I felt the same way….the books didn’t come anywhere close to it felt like, for me, anyway. It’s all I could ever want, too, as long as it’s with you.”

“Good. Come here.”

Sami leaned toward Lucas allowing him to embrace her.

“You feel so good against me. Sami?”

“What?”

“It’s only going to get better between us, you know.”

Sami pulled back and with a shine in her eyes replied, “It is?”

“Sure…..what’s that saying…’practice makes perfect.’”

“Oh, I’ve heard that before. Know what?”

“Huh?”

“I’m a very quick learner, too, particularly when it’s a subject I’m interested in. ”

“Oh, really? Well, then, I guess I wouldn’t mind tutoring you….I’m…”

“Oh, be quiet, Professor Roberts, and let’s get on with the homework assignment.”

Sami surprised Lucas by shoving him back against the pillows, crawling closer to him on her knees and slowly lowering her face to his as his grin widened with every inch she came closer to kissing him.

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