A Breath Until Forever (12 page)

“That it?” She remembered the coldness of the liquor store clerk. The clerk was a man in his middle 40's, with short balding hair, and a big fat mustache that looked more like a fuzzy caterpillar, than facial hair. He had a rounded tummy, probably due to too much drinking himself, and his nose was shaped into cauliflower, which was a telltale sign from too much drinking himself.

She remembered how, after purchasing the bottle of wine, shoved the bottle in a brown paper bag and almost threw it at her.

That's when she really knew that she wasn't welcome in this town. The only person who had welcomed her, was the one reason why she had stayed so long, and that was a Joshua ?, the man who was taking her breath away. 

Now out on the road, the sunlight hurt Meredith's eyes, even wearing large oversized sunglasses. The sun pierced through the darkness of the shades it was so bright and she thought about the Sedona, Arizona and all of the heat waves that equaled fumes of gasoline.

Even though it was hot as blazes out here, Meredith looked cool though, and allowed her choice of clothing, overbear the uncomfortable heat that she felt. Luckily, the blouse had not sweat tears of perspiration, and she had stayed dry. She turned off engine. She leaned against the fender of her Jeep where she parked it behind a large overbearing pine tree, that birthed pine cones in phallic shapes. She had on the same jeans that fit her so well in all the right places, and her comfy sandals of leather and handcrafted stitching. Her blouse hugged her so tight, and she delighted that it did nice things for her bosom.  She was hoping that Joshua would, too, notice that. She didn't want her breasts to invite him to think he could sleep with her, but she did want some attention, a compliment perhaps, so make her feel good, if only momentarily. She waved as she pulled up next to Joshua's truck. He had arrived punctually, and she delighted in that.

“Hey!” She said and rushed to give him a hug. “So great that you could come! Nice to see you here.” She wondered if her excitement had been too much, and she immediately grew self-conscious. “I mean, it's so great that you could come.” She repeated, but this time in a more melancholy tone as she withdrew her hug. He smiled.

She then added, while beginning to get stuff out of her Jeep.  “It's not every day that I’m lucky enough to have someone keep me company while I’m out here slaving away with these paints.” Joshua just smiled again. And Meredith couldn't help but wonder if she was making a fool out of herself. But Joshua hadn't answered because he didn't know what to say. The ever fitting blouse had indeed caught his attention, and he noticed she wasn't sweating like he was, and thought she must be quite the lady to not sweat. His eyes had flirted with her ample bosoms at first, but then had trailed back to her sweet eyes quickly. He didn't want to get caught with being such a horny man. He wanted to give her nothing but respect and politeness. A woman like Meredith deserved such thing, and more. She was a cultured woman, intelligent, and had a good heart. A woman like this was one in a million, and he wasn't going to let his horniness get in the way of getting to know her a little better.

“It's a hot one out today.” He said, his insipid talk, slowly turning his half rising to softness. He hoped his general talk could get his mind off of the blouse she was wearing. All he wanted to do now, more than anything else in his whole entire life,  was to strip that beautiful white blouse off of her, exposing her breasts that he may play with them and suck on them, and get her out of her tight fitting jeans that fit her so well. Damn! She was such a beautiful woman. And hot too. There was something so erotically appealing about her that made him excited just by looking at her.

He was in the presence of a woman that he felt something strongly for. He never really knew what to say. What conversation would serve him well enough that Meredith would ever want a guy like him, or even make him feel like he was the slightest bit interesting. She was sophisticated, cultured, a master of the arts, and he was gritty, raunchy, and had dirty fingernails.

“I want to watch you paint.” Joshua said. Joshua did want to watch Meredith paint, but he didn't disclose as to the reason why. The reason was more erotic than he wanted to share with Meredith, as he wanted to watch her in her rawest but yet most talented form. To watch her commit to beauty, while being beautiful herself, with long silky hair, an hourglass shape that showed off a 36-30-38 measurements, an angled nose that peaked at a button like tip, breasts of perky perfection, a rounded ass, and a broad rimmed mouth always pink and ready to kiss. He even liked her fine lined wrinkles that danced around her honey glowing eyes, and the thin diagonal symmetry of age that shaped around her smile. She was a real woman. In his eyes, she was the living Venus on earth, and to him, just to watch her, not even touch her, was enough to make him swell up in his jeans, and want a woman more than any other woman he had wanted in his whole entire life.

“Well I can do that. Although, you might find it boring. “ She replied. “It's not like going to a concert or anything.  I take my time with the brush strokes, and sometimes, I just take in the scenery without doing anything. But your more then welcome to watch if you want, and if anytime you get bored out of your skull, your free to leave, I wont be offended at all.” Her words were full of honesty, and he took them as such, nodding his head in agreement with their oral agreement. Even though he knew that he would never get bored of her, even if hours had past without any kind of exciting incident, or days, weeks, or even months. He would never be bored of this beautiful woman, Meredith Hurley, a painter from Seattle, with a past, but who always looked towards a better and brighter future. Joshua was just glad to see her and hoped that she had implied something of the same to him. Her earlier response made him feel vindicated as he did. And her next response, not only validated it even more, but went beyond that, as if his presence was actually needed.

“Hey, can you help somehow? You know, carry anything,..” Meredith hesitated for a second, feeling as if she was asking too much of Joshua. “I mean, carry something if you want.”

Meredith didn't have to ask twice. Joshua was more then happy to help Meredith with anything – anything she possibly wanted. “I can carry your back pack up, or your easel, anything you want.” Joshua piped, feeling the force of masculinity to want to help out this “damsel in distress.”

“Ok, yeah, sure.” Meredith smiled. Her smile is so pretty, thought Joshua to himself as he noticed her smile more than her other smiles in the past, and thought how cute she was when she smiled, showing off those two flirting dimples that danced deeply in her rounded cheeks.

“It's nice to have someone help.” Meredith complied, handing Joshua the easel and the backpack, from which he quickly assisted with, slinging the backpack up over his left shoulder, and carrying the easel in his right hand.

“Your welcome.” Was Joshua's reply, feeling the warmth of helping her out fill his heart with heartfelt compassion.

“I've fallen plenty of times by carrying all of that stuff. I'm kind of klutzy at times.” Meredith laughed, her honey brown eyes laughing along with her. 

Joshua assisted Meredith up the snaking trails that wandered throughout the valley. He had never saw this land before, as it had been off the beaten path from where he had ever adventured to before, and he felt bewildered by the whole view of everything that unfolded all around him. There was so much to see now, as he was aware of Meredith's beauty, but he had never quite been so aware of the beauty that surrounded him in panoramic seclusion. He always took advantage of the land by being there all of the time, but this was new, undiscovered land, and he noticed things around him that he would never have noticed before meeting Meredith, and all of this newness, drew him in like a magnet. He also noticed Meredith more too, especially the time when the sunlight derived a special aura around her face when she looked back at him and smiled. There was a magical grace that made her more than a woman, rather it made her more of a goddess, a femininity that should be praised and adored completely. She had those heavenly eyes that softened when she smiled. And she had breasts that rounded when she moved. Why did she had to look at him so strongly, all the while wear a sheer thin blouse that left nothing to the imagination? And she had noticed too, in all of him his agility in which he addressed in his sky blue eyes which thundered when he talked. And she erotically enjoyed the muscles along his forearms which dynamically functioned as they muscled in his swing when he took long strides. Why did he have to look at her so intensely, all the while roll up his short sleeves as to show off his upper strength when he walked? The men she knew before him seemed rather ungainly compared to him and his athleticism, bust mostly Benjamin who was twenty years Joshua's senior, and whose body had become fatty where muscles used to be, with a paunch stomach and who had lost his capability to  move like a healthy predator when after the prey of a trophy hunt. They hurried along, past where the sun smiled heavily and the small clouds hung low, and that is where Meredith noticed that special quality about Joshua that was very physical in nature. Joshua was very athletic, and very much in shape, as he glided through the meadows with simple ease, and he tread through even through the thickest brush, without ever losing his breath much. That's when Meredith realized that Joshua was more animal, than man, and it attracted her to him strongly. And Joshua wasn't just any animal, he was a predator, equal to that of a lion, with a prowling of knowing the land.

“Joshua, can you give me the binoculars? Please? I need it now.” Meredith asked of Joshua, who had seen something before her in which she thought she could naturally paint.

He opened up the backpack, feeling instantly a little inadequate, when he saw all the expensive equipment and art supplies she had fishing around. He was clearly struggling financially, and to see such stuff, stuff that was worth more than his whole ranch itself, made him a little sick to his stomach.

Meredith quickly placed the tripod down low. She didn't take her eye off the sight, even with setting up, and knew that this moment was very rare. She had found the perfect spot, and Joshua just watched her, in awe how she had such a keen eye.

“
Can you help me a little? Easels, not quite set up right.” Meredith asked of Joshua, making the observation that her easel was a little crooked, disorientated in the earth, and needed quick adjustment. She reached out for the leg of the easel, while at the same time, he reached for it as well, his hand brushing slightly over hers. He felt the warmth of her skin, touching so casually, so briefly without intent, and he instantly tingled deep inside. Collaborating together, they both adjusted the easel until it was fully balanced, perfectly pitched, and when it was done and over with, both, at the same exact time, withdrew their reaches, feeling an overwhelming sense of awkwardness wave over them both.

“Thank you for helping.” Meredith sincerely thanked, all the while glancing at Joshua. “You have no idea how much this helps me!” Her words were genuine, but he didn't want to be thanked for every little second that he gave himself too. He was more than happy to help her, and just having that brief touch of her hand had felt as he had made love a thousand times over. Joshua flushed a little. He was the one who usually did all the laboring, but nobody had ever appreciated everything that he did like she did,  and it made him feel a little weird. He liked her gratitude, but he would do it even without all the compliments. Just doing something for her made him feel good. So damn good. God, what was him about him that made her feel so good?

She moved near the creek then up the other embankment that was full of purple bellied violets and butter filled pansies. She went by an old wooden bridge, that was falling down due to neglect. It was a wooden bridge, but full of steel railroad ties and a history of when the train used to travel through there to go North. He had heard that the train had stopped running through there in the year of 1964, when Nelson Mandela and several others were imprisoned in South Africa, and they just left it up to neglect and the cancer of Nature to take care of it.  He stood behind Meredith, strangely happy being so close to her, by not touching her, just feeling her energy give him a warmth. There was a power of her companionship, that he just did not understand, but didn't want to understand for he knew if he tried to understand it, it would destroy him. She was more than just a pretty face. She was a woman who was complicated and complex, multi-dimensional, absolutely variegated; all elements for a man like him to be attracted to, but to draw in heartache at the end.

And the way she not only merged with Nature, but become one with it, was enough to make Joshua excited. Meredith didn't just wait for nature, she took it, embraced it, and shaped it into her own personal vision by making it come to life on her canvas by allowing the paints, her brushstrokes, and her heart and mind, to create something even more beautiful than he could ever feel when he was engaged in nature itself. It was something to almost be jealous of.