Caroline Walgreen shut off the vacuum cleaner and listened for the ringing of the telephone. She thought she had heard the chime over the steady hum of the Dirt Devil she was using. Hearing it again, she sprinted to the kitchen and snatched the receiver off the wall.
"Hello?" she said, out of breath.
"Hey, baby; it's me. Were you busy?" The deep, sexy voice on the other end belonged to Caroline's fiancee, Kevin Richardson.
"No, I was just cleaning a little. I couldn't really hear the phone ringing over the vacuum. Where are you?" She could hear people bustling about noisily in the background.
"I'm at the airport. I got an earlier flight out and I can make it home tonight instead of tomorrow morning. And you know I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have an extra night with you."
Kevin had been on tour over-seas for the past two months and he and Elizabeth had missed each other like crazy. He had a week-long tour break and he was flying home today to the house they shared in Orlando.
"Great, baby!" Caroline said enthusiastically. "I can't wait to see you!"
"I know. I can't wait to have a week just to be with you." A boarding call over the intercom made Kevin stop short. "Baby, they just announced my flight so I gotta go. Be waiting for me tonight," he said sexily. "I love you, Cari."
"I will; promise. Love you too, baby. See you tonight." Caroline hung up the phone and glanced around the house. Everything was clean so she went upstairs to change her clothes. She had some shopping to do before Kevin's return.
As Kevin situated himself on the airplane, his mind drifted to thoughts of Caroline and their home. She devoted all of her time and energy to making him happy and she was always so understanding of his schedule. She was going to make the perfect wife and he couldn't wait until their upcoming wedding. Leaning his chair back, Kevin dreamed of how he was going to greet Caroline when he got home.
When Caroline returned with her bags, she set to work upstairs. She dressed the bed with the new blue satin sheets she bought and set her scented candles all around the room. "I can put this away for a while," she thought as she took the framed picture of Kevin off her bedside table and put it in a drawer. finally, she spritzed the pillowcases with her perfume; she knew he loved that.
Looking around to inspect her handiwork, Caroline was pleased. She could imagine Kevin's reaction when he walked in to see her asleep (or pretending to sleep) in the midst of satin and candlelight. He'd slide in beside her, wrap her in his arms, and kiss her all over. He was still an extreme romantic after three years together.
Flipping off the light, Caroline walked downstairs and decided to take a nap on the couch. When she awoke, she'd get ready for that evening.
Caroline was roused awake by the ringing of the telephone. Gathering her senses, she reached over and picked it up. "Hello?" she said sleepily.
"Caroline?" It was her best friend, Leigh.
"Hey, Leigh. I was just taking a nap."
"Caroline, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but... Listen, go turn on your t.v. I'll be right over." Leigh hung up the phone without even saying good-bye.
Caroline got up from her couch and turned her television on. As the picture appeared a feeling of dread, heavy as cement, settled in her stomach. On the screen, she saw workers rushing to put out a blazing fire. People were running around to extinguish the blaze that looked to be started by...
"Oh my God! It's an airplane!" Caroline's breath caught in her throat as she realized what she was looking at. She sank to her knees as her legs gave away. Giant sobs shook her body and her stomach was in knots. The reporter on the scene gave out information that Caroline caught bits of. "Flight 113 from Italy to Orlando...engine failure...few identifiable bodies...apparantly no survivors..."
"Please, God, let this all be just another bad dream." The doorbell rang and Caroline walked to answer it. Leigh stood on the doorstep with tears running down her cheeks. Caroline grabbed her and pulled her into the den.
"Leigh, tell me I'm dreaming," Caroline sobbed. "this isn't Kevin's plane. They made a mistake and Kevin's still gonna come through the door tonight and kiss me and tell me he loves me and..." Caroline slumped down in the chair behind Leigh and her body shook with sobs of pure sadness.
Leigh embraced her best friend and tried to hold back her own tears. "Baby, calm down. Nick and the rest of the guys will be back soon. Everything's gonna be okay."
The phone rang and Leigh went to answer it. "Hello?" she said, waiting to hear the voice on the other end.
"Leigh? Where's Caroline?" Brian asked in a strained voice.
"She's in the den, Brian, but she really can't talk right now."
"Okay. Me and A.J. will be there in a little while. Our flight was delayed and I have no idea how long it takes to get home from Italy. Nick's already on his way and Howie's leaving first thing in the morning. Just let her know we love her and we'll be together again soon."
"I will, Bri. Be careful." Those words had taken on new meaning now.
"Bye, Leigh. Tell Caroline I'll be praying all the way home."
Leigh hung the phone back on the wall and walked back into the next room. Caroline was still sitting in the chair staring absently at the t.v. set. "C'mon, hon," Leigh said pulling her out of the chair and towards the staricase. "Let's take you upstairs so you can rest."
As Caroline slid between the sheets, all of her senses went crazy. She could see, hear, and even smell Kevin all around her. Before she slept she had to ask, "Leigh, how did you know that was Kevin's plane?"
Leigh took a deep breath and answered, "Nick told me that Kevin snagged an earlier flight to surprise you. When he heard about this he called me and I called to tell you."
Caroline just shook her head. The violent sobs from before had been replaced with silent streams of hot tears that puddled on her pillow, staining the delicate satin. As she drifted into fitful sleep, she thought about the past.
Her mind flashed back to the night they met, backstage at one of his shows, then to the night they had decided to spend the rest of their lives together. She'd never forget how they had lay in his bed wrapped up in one another and talked about starting a family as soon as possible. They both wanted a house full of children and Kevin would've made a wonderful father.
Would've--that was so definite. As soon as that one word flashed through Caroline's mind she realized her whole life had changed in the blink of an eye. She would never again see Kevin perform, never see the look of love and adoration on his face as she marched down the aisle to meet him at the alter. The chance for her to see him dressed in hospital scrubs as he held their first screaming child had been snatched away from her cruelly. But what hurt the most was that never again would he call just to say 'I love you,' or to hear her voice while he was out on the road. He wasn't there to protect her now when she needed him to kiss away her fears more than she ever had before.
Her eyes flew open when she felt hands on her shoulders. Brian was standing over her. Caroline sat up and threw her arms around his neck and Brian, who had been like a brother to her throughout her whole relationship with Kevin, stroked her hair patiently while she soaked his shoulders with teardrops.
"Brian, I miss him so much!"
"Me, too, Cari. Me, too." When Caroline pulled away, he took her hand. "Aunt Ann called while you were sleeping. She asked for you but I told her you were taking things pretty bad."
"How's she handling it?"
"Not too good," Brian admitted quietly. "She still can't believe her baby's gone."
"Neither can I," Caroline said in a barely audible whisper. "He promised he'd take care of me. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be me who went first because he was so much stronger than me..." As soon as she said that, Caroline had cried herself to sleep again. Brian kissed her fevered forehead and quietly left the room. P>
Caroline felt a kiss being placed on each eyelid and her eyes fluttered open: Kevin was sitting on the edge of their bed carressing her cheek. "Wake up, Boo!"
Caroline looked up at him in disbelief. "I thought..."
Kevin put his finger to her lips and spoke again. "I don't have much time. I just had to come tell you that I'm alright. I'm going to be with daddy now, and grandpa. Thank you, baby, for trying so hard to make me happy. There's no one on this Earth who loves you like I do and from now on I can watch over you every second and make sure you're alright."
Kevin kissed the teardrops from Caroline's cheeks and continued. "Just because I'm gone, Boo, it doesn't mean I don't love you anymore. I'll love you for eternity. I can promise you that."
Caroline reached out for him. "Kevin..."
"I gotta go now sweetheart," he said leaning over her. Kevin kissed her lips tenderly and whispered, "I love you, Cari," before he disappeared completely.
Caroline touched her lips and decided she had been dreaming. She rolled over to face the remainder of the long, lonely night but something caught her eye. Nestled in the center of Kevin's pillow was the ring his father had given him so many years ago. Kevin never took it off his finger and when Caroline saw it she realized she hadn't been dreaming.
The inscription read "True love is eternal--Kevin" and as Caroline slipped it on her finger on over-whelming calm flooded her. Right then, she knew that Kevin was watching over her, taking away all her pain and fear and protecting her like he promised he always would.
Home
More Hosted Stories
Brianna's Stories