Forever Yours

Chapter 1-2

Samson watched as the door closed behind Linus. He found himself torn, wanting to go after Linus and take him by the wrist, keep him from leaving until they got this sorted, but maybe it was the right thing to do, letting Linus walk away. A little distance between them and the issue at hand might generate some clarity. He hoped. Still, he stayed in the foyer a bit longer in case Linus changed his mind.

Eventually, however, he returned to the kitchen, picking up the small mess they’d made while preparing breakfast. Everything had been perfect when they got up that morning, the two of them dipping into the shower together for a bit of fooling around. They’d laughed and speculated on the day’s plans, not really settling on any one thing, when Linus broached the subject yet again.

The very same one that always brought a dark cloud with it, Eeyore style.

Samson deposited the dirty dishes in the sink, then turned on the water, waiting for it to warm up. While it did, he wiped down the counters. Cleaning, it was how he dealt with stress and problems that he otherwise couldn’t fix.

And this one was a doozy, to say the least.

When he reached the artfully done bouquet, Samson paused, reaching out to caress the petal of a pink-hued lily. This time of the year roses were supposed to be the in thing, the go-to flower to express love, but he knew how much Linus disliked the bloom, so he always went looking for something more exotic, something different. The heart-shaped card was resting against the vase and it contained words he hoped expressed the way he felt. Words he dug up from the depths of his heart.

“Why does he always have to bring up marriage?” Samson asked the empty house. “Why is what we have not enough for him?”

Why did Linus feel the need for rings and vows and a piece of paperwork when none of those things changed the depth of their love? Scrubbing the pan he used to cook bacon, Samson began to speculate if maybe that was the root cause, his love as it was didn’t measure up to whatever idea Linus had in mind. His stomach knotted at the idea and suddenly he no longer cared about the dishes. They were trivial, inconsequential.

Samson shut off the tap and dried his hands. This was why he’d wanted to talk things out with Linus, to figure out where they were headed and if perhaps there might be a compromise.

He second guessed his earlier choice. He should have gone after Linus, if for nothing else than to let him know that this wasn’t going to tear them apart. They’d find a way.

“That’s it,” grumbled Samson, throwing down the towel, literally, and heading for the door.

Much as Linus had done, he slipped on his sneakers. From a peg on the wall he snatched up his car keys. While jogging was more a Linus pastime, Samson did occasionally join him and knew all of Linus’s favorite routes. Tracking him down should be easy enough.

Samson was about to leave, slipping on his coat, when he heard a song from a classic eighties movie. He paused, his brain taking a second or two to process the otherwise odd occurrence in the quiet house. Then it dawned on him, it was the ringtone Linus had recently picked for his cell phone, muttering something about a change while he did it. Samson let the tune guide him back into the kitchen where the device waited to be answered.

Should he?

He glanced at the screen to see if he knew the number. He didn’t. Gut feeling told him to answer it anyway, he’d deal with the potential argument later.

Samson picked up the phone as the song began to wind down. He hit the talk button. “Hello?”