“Alex Dupont, Moscow 1997”

I must hurry before it’s too late. The painting really intrigued me. Alex Dupont. Who the hell is he? Anyway, I have to get it before I feel regret for the entire life. Karen Russell, at twenty-seven, was lovely looking, with a slim figure, shiny brown hair and a warm. She had just moved and worked for the US government in Russia and loved to collect the famous paintings. Karen was walking very hard on the thick soft snow. It seemed to her that the entire city was wrapped in a mantle of pure white snow and the icy December wind herded the Christmas shoppers toward the comfort of their homes. I wish I could park my car just in front of the Dom Naschokina, so I do not need to walk like this.

Five minutes later…

Thank God, finally! Karen reached the house of Nashokin. The old mansion was a beautifully designed house with tall ceilings, lovely skylights, a handsome and unique decoration staircase, and antique hardwood floors. The oak door was open. It was already filled with a lot of people. A dozen valuable paintings were hanging on the walls nicely. And Karen was heading toward the painting that she has been dreaming since a couple of days. She was not interested in others as she used to be. She just loved that painting. There you are! Thank God, it’s still here. Karen loosens the scarf which was wrapped around the neck. And she kept looking at the painting and smiling alone. Amazing! Alex Dupont. How could he paint it so real? It looks absolutely real!
An early thirty wildly attractive, tall and lean, good looking with boyish looks and easy was approaching and asking Karen “Mogu li ya pomoch’vam, Miss?
Karen was surprised. Her cheeks were blushing. She did not expect someone caught her whilst she was smiling alone.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, Izvini”. My apology thought that you are from here”
Karen looked at him and smiled “it’s OK”.
“Vam eto nravitsya? I mean, do you like it?
“Oh yes, I do. I love that”, she said. “And I…
“Let me introduce myself”, he extended his hand. “I am Alex Dupont, the painter”, Alex said and smiled.
“I am Karen Russell, just call me Karen. I am a kind of paintings collector, well, I love them” she said. “Two days ago I came here to have a look around and interested to buy that one”, she pointed her finger at the big painting in the corner. “But then, I passed this hall and stopped by to look at your painting closer. It’s exotic and I love that!”
“Spasiba.,Thank you! I am honored to get the kind of words from someone like you who really knows the taste of the master arts”, Alex smiled shyly.
“Well, Mr. Dupont…”
“Just Alex…”
“Alex, hmm…how much would you sell that for me?” sorry for being straightforward”, she asked and smiled.
***
Karen was sitting on the long soft white sofa in her living room and staring at the painting that she had just bought. Two beautiful young women and naked transformed into a butterfly and a mermaid. The mermaid was in the crystal pool, hugged and kissed the butterfly. They were in love. Alex added the beautiful flowers around and made the painting became more excited and exotic. This is my first time I love a painting from the unknown painter. And Alex? He had intelligent blue eyes. Geez, I cannot stop thinking about him. Am I now fallen in love with a man? Alex was so real and wonderful.
The telephone rang. Alex. Karen hanged up the phone. Right! Café Pushkin. Love it!

***
“Dinner was so delicious; this is my first time I ate Russian dishes” Karen said and smiled. “The broth? I love that and the meat with fresh steamed vegetables was cooked exactly the way I liked it,” she wiped her mouth with the red napkin. “And I did not expect that I could finish all!” she smiled and seemed embarrassed.
He looked across the table at her and said “moi aussie!” “I love the foods here. You know, I am French and been here for 10 years now. “And the mostly exactly what I love is the cocktail. That was just great!’, he tossed his glass to her. She tossed it back and smiled and asked, “and why…”Karen leaned across the table and said, “never mind”…
Alex smiled. “Vse normal’no”.I know what you would like to ask. Well, I am personally liking the Russian artists. To me, they are just different. One day, I went to visit The Tretyakov Gallery and it was amazing. And one gentleman approached me. He showed me his great art collections. And you know what? I was feeling so lucky. His name was Yuri Kuper. He was one of the greatest artists in Russia. We had a long conversation and finally he offered me to come by his studio and willing to teach me further about the arts. Ever since, I decided to live in Moscow. It was just a wonderful experience to me”
“That’s really great, Alex. You are a talented artist!”
“Merci, mademoiselle Karen”
“Avec plaisir!” she blinked and smiled.
Alex reached Karen’s hand and kissed it. His hand was so soft. Oh God, my heart was pondering. What is wrong with me? Alex was so beautiful and his eyes were just like a magic to me.
“Karen, would you mind if I take you to my studio? I will show you my collections and it’s just a walking distance from here.
“I would love to”, she smiled excitedly.

***
Because it was early December, Moscow and like other cities in Russia was preparing for the holiday season. The streets of the capital were decorated with Christmas lights and wreaths of holly and on almost every corner on the street Santa Clauses stood, tolling their bells for coins and children were running around them laughing and enjoying that moment, the Christmas spirit. The sidewalks were crowded with shoppers braving the icy winds.

Ten minutes later…

Alex’s studio was on Tverskaya Street, in a quiet residential section. A beautiful and clean, modest brick, white building with gorgeous garden and a small fountain were so attractively designed. Alex opened the door for her. Bookshelves lined the walls and a fireplace with a deep hearth already had wood laid for a fire. One large leather sofa was placed in the corner. The walls painted in white and Marlene Dietrich portrait hanging there; and the furnishing less masculine. The smell of lavender air freshener made them feel relaxed. Alex led her to the back of the house and what looked like his studio.

Alex grabbed Karen’s hand gently. “Would you like to have a look around?”
Karen was amazed and said “This is awesome! You have great paintings and portraits! And you would be a great painter, one day, well, you are!!!”
Alex took her closer and touched the curve of her face with tender. He kissed her lips softly. Karen did not protest it. She felt the earth below her melt away and all time stopped for that moment. “Gosh, he is a really good kisser and I enjoyed it!”
He drifted down onto her neck. The wonderful silky neck of a woman is to a joy to kiss and nibble. He moved down to her body, kissing every inch of her skin. Karen seemed to love it. Goodness sake, I love the way he touches and kisses me. Karen pulled him up and kissed his lips passionately. She took off his jacket and unbuttoned the shirt. Her mouth was open, she was staring at beautiful breasts. And Alex sealed it with a kiss.

“Alex…y-you are…?”
“Yes, Karen. I am a woman I mne nravitsya, vy tak mnogo.
***
I like you too, Alex. Now I got it! I became what I am now is not my choice. I just follow my heart to be with someone who made me happy. Feelings! Karen looked at a beautiful and peaceful face who was sleeping next to her. No matter how hard you try to be looked alike a man, you are still a woman, nurturing and compassionate. Alexa Dupont. That was your real name.

MockBa, Dec 1997. Karen Russell.

***END***

#Moscow#LGBT#Painting#Arts#CafePushkin#Portraits#happylgbtfeb.

After Chloe Benoît

After the tragic car crashed happened to Winter Monroe’s best friend almost three months now, she decided to move on, though it was really hard for her handling this such a huge  and heavy burden on her shoulder alone.  Only Chloe, her best friend who really understood, cared and loved her.  She was the love of her life and yet, it was too late for her to put an emerald and diamond ring on her sweet finger.  She was feeling depressed and utterly stressed. She had been struggling to get out of her manic depression but could not. She had been trying to drown in work and still did not work well. She kept missing her best friend, especially on the weekend that she always spent her quality time with her.  The Victoria Park, King’s Park, Subiaco and Fremantle. Those places that she always took her for taking a walk, coffee and dinner. She could not sweep those memories away, she wanted to give up the life, but she always remembered what Chloe told her to keep moving forward and pursue her dreams.

A week later, she decided to take a Yoga class. She used to do it, but then she stopped as it was too boring for her to do so.  Maybe it’s boring for me, but I think it will be good for my soul and mind at this moment. She took a Hatha yoga class eventually. I hope I am getting better, so I would be ready to start my life all over again and ready to build the future with my future partner.

***

“Nice bike!”

“Oh, thanks!. How are you?” Winter parked her bike in the bicycle’s parking lot. She rented a beautiful and cozy apartment in the Subiaco area which was only 5 minutes to The Yoga Spark at Collin Street. She sold her small and gorgeous house that she spent most of the time with Chloe. It was just too painful for her to see every place and corner she was with her.

“You look great, Win!”

“You too, thanks!” She smiled.

Jesse Blanc was a Yoga teacher. She was in her mid-forty, beautiful with bright blue eyes and had a superb slender body.  She was married, but no kids. She had been a Yoga teacher for twelve years. Everybody liked her as she was friendly, a caring and loving person.

“So, you are ready for today?”

“Yeah, I guess… I just cannot_

“You are still thinking about her, aren’t you?” Jesse asked and worried about her. “You know, Winter, I can understand what you feel to lose someone that you’d been loved for 15 years. I was in that situation before. When I was very young, I decided to marry James, my husband. After three years of our marriage, we finally had a baby. It was the greatest moment that we were both excited. Our son, Jack, was adorable and the most beautiful baby I had ever seen in my life. But then…”she paused.

“Then what?” Winter touched her shoulder and looked at her eyes deeply.

“Terrible thing happened. Jack died when he was three years old”,

“Oh, I am so sorry. What happened?”

“He got hit by a drunk driver. The driver avoided the pedestrian and swerved to the path whilst my son was walking there. And he was dead instantly”, her tone was muffled by distance and grief. “Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. I believe your son is in a better place now”, Winter hugged her.

Jesse wiped the tears in the corner of her eyes and said “Thank you. And let’s go to the class!”

***

It had been a month; Winter finally enjoyed the Yoga class. She was getting better and relaxed a bit now. Winter liked Jesse and she thought that she could be her close friend. She kept the distance as she did not want to let her feelings fall into her as she knew that Jesse was a married woman.  However, sometimes, they cycled together to Perth city and dropped by for a coffee.

“Are you okay?”Jesse asked.

“Yes, I_I am okay”, Winter said.

“Well, you don’t look O.K. What’s the matter? You tired?” she sounded concerned.

“Um… It’s Friday, isn’t it?

Jesse nodded and asked “what is it with Friday?”

“I always feel nervous every Friday, its weekend. And you know…?” her eyes glazed and tears were rolling down on her cheeks. “I miss Chloe. I miss her pretty crazy. We used to spend every weekend together as I travelled a lot for the business purposes. And she was so excited waiting for me because she knew that I always surprised her and sometimes….Winter wiped the tears and smiled…”sometimes we did a crazy thing”.

Jesse rubbed Winter’s hair and said “I could feel what you feel. Time is a great healer! Listen, I was planning to have “barbie” tonight in my home. Would you like to come? Or would you prefer to have a cup of coffee at Brew Ha?

“Is your husband there? Well, please, don’t get me wrong, I mean, I actually just wanted to be alone or with someone like you. I mean, you care about me so much. And I really appreciated. And thank you for that, Jess!”

“Well, you know that you are so sweet and sometimes, funny! And I love seeing you smiling and laughing, but when the joy has gone from your face, I feel sad” she said softly.

“By the way, James is in London for the business…So_

“I’d love to come!”

At 07:00 p.m.

Winter drove her car heading towards Jesse’s house in Wembley. And it took only ten minutes to get there. She stopped in front of the big and beautiful white house. She read the address again. I think this is the right address. And this is her house. She got off the car and walked slowly to the gate and rang the bell. She wore blue jeans and a white shirt and the pearl black string choker around the neck. She was small, charming and attractive. She could see through the window that Jesse was running towards the door.

“Hi, gorgeous, thanks for coming!” she kissed her cheek.

“My pleasure and thanks for inviting me, Jess!” she smiled.

Jesse wore tight Khaki dress showing off her beautiful body, and she looked so feminine and sexy.

Shortly after, dinner was ready. The weather was so amazing and it was a really good feeling to have barbeque outside with the gorgeous scenery in her patio area. They sat in the dining area with the round white table and two chairs placed nicely. The Jazz music reverberated and added to the romantic atmosphere. Winter poured herself and Jesse a glass of Rose wine. They looked at each other and smiled.

“C’est délicieux. Marveilleux diner. Je le vis. Merci beaucoup!” Winter said and tossed her glass against Jesse’s.

“Mon grand plaisir, mon doux ami!” She smiled and blinked her eyes.

“Hey, how could you speak Francais?” Winter was surprised and smiled.

“My father is French. He’s originally from Marseille”.

“Marseille?” Wow, that was in coincidence. When I was seventeen, my family moved to Marseille. We lived there for one year”, Winter told her excitedly. I liked the city and the weather was just fine, as it’s not that hot and not that cold”.

“Yes, absolutely!” Jesse smiled and stood. She took her hand and asked for the dance.

“Would you like to dance with me, ma douce amie?”

Winter smiled and looked so nervous and brutally honest “um…I_I can’t dance and I don’t like dancing.”

“I’ll teach you and I am sure, you will like it. Dance slow Jazz, that’s what I call it. Listen to the music and just try to follow the rhythm. “Okay, put your right hand on my left hip side and your left hand on my hand, hold it up.”

“Like this?” Winter asked. Jesse nodded and smiled.

Shortly after, it seemed that both of them enjoy the evening night. Winter pulled Jesse a bit closer. A hug stance. And she kissed her lips. And all of a sudden, Jesse pushed her away.

Winter was confused and felt guilty “I am sorry… I_I did not mean to_ “She stepped back and said “Sorry, I did not mean to screw up the dinner. Sorry…” She left and walked towards her car. She drove home fast, but her mind kept thinking about what had just happened. What did I do? Fool! Did I kiss her because I kept thinking of Chloe? I guess not.  She sighed. I like her and I thought that she likes me. Hang on. Why did she do this to me? I mean, a beautiful dinner, beautiful Jazz music and…asked me for the dance? I do not understand this. Tears were welling up in her eyes. She took Norah Jones CD and turned it on “Come away with me”…this is for you, Chloe. I miss you. I wish you were here with me now!

 ***

The next Friday in the ladies locker…

Winter saw Jesse putting the bag in the locker. She tied her hair up with a blue satin band and looked beautiful as always. She approached her. “Hi, Jesse”

“Hi Winter”, she responded without looking at her. “Jesse, look, I apologise for what happened on Friday night…I-I like you and I thought that you like me too. I am so sorry”

Jesse did not respond. She closed the locker and said “Let’s go to the class”. She left. Winter stood confused. What is it? She walked towards her locker and her mind kept thinking about Jesse.

“Excuse me!”

Winter turned around to find out where the voice came from. And she saw a girl walking towards her. “Hi, my name is Emily. And I am a new here”, She extended her hand and Winter shook it.

“Oh, I am Winter. Are you going to join Hatha Class?” she asked.

“Yes. Do you know where exactly the place is? I mean the class? Which floor?”

“Come with me. We are in the same class”

***

Emily was from Melbourne and she had just moved to Perth. She worked at a five star hotel as a Director of Sales and Marketing. She was intelligent and cute, dressed in a pink tank and blue jeans, her blonde hair twisted and secured with a dragonfly clip at the nape of her neck. She was younger than Winter. It seemed that they were both very close now. She invited her sometimes for having lunch at the hotel she worked and asked her to arrange some events. And it was the really professional relationship they had been trying to build for three weeks now.

And one day, Emily called her to come to her apartment for the tasks that she thought that she needed Winter’s help. Her General Manager asked her to re-brand the company and she got stuck as was not sure what she was doing. She had a problem with the confidence and always got nervous when she got a big job. She thought about Winter as she knew that she had more experiences than her. And she knew that she was brilliant, had thousands of ideas. That’s what Emily adored her. On the other hand, Winter always felt that she was just a spontaneous person. She never thought that her ideas would make people mesmerize and like them. Sometimes, she just said what was crossed her mind.

“Wow! That’s a brilliant idea. I could not believe that you think so fast about what we are supposed to do for the re-branding?”

“Well, me neither. The idea just came across my mind suddenly”, she said and smiled.

“Thanks anyway!”She grabbed her hand and led her to the balcony.

“I’ll show you something. It’s a beautiful view up here, isn’t it? You know what? A day I arrived in Perth, I knew that I will fall in love with this city. It’s so quiet. People are so nice. And I feel like I have a life here”

“Yeah, I love Perth too. The most beautiful city that I have ever known…well, at least for me!”, she smiled.

“Win, may I ask you something?”

“Sure! Ask me whatever you want to know about me”

“D-did you choose to be a lesbian?”She asked hesitantly.

Winter smiled and said “I chose to be with the person I’m with. And I think everybody has the right to choose their partners”

Emily smiled and moved closer to her. And she hugged her from behind.

“Hmm, Emily, what are you doing?”Winter turned her body.

Emily put her hands on her shoulder and kissed her lips.

Winter kissed her back and said “W-why did you kiss me? I thought that you have a_

“I really like you and I want to feel you”, she kissed her cheeks.

Winter looked at her eyes and touched her cheek. She kissed her lips gently and asked “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I-I have never had sex with a woman…but I…um…I want to feel it with you” her face blushed  and she took Winter’s hands and placed them on her breasts and said “I like you so much, Win. Winter kissed her lips again and moving down to her neck. She unbuttoned Emily’s blouse and caressed her beautiful breasts and licked her nipples. She paused and whispered in her ear “I can hear your heart beating hard!” she smiled. Emily looked nervous and managed to smile back.  Winter kept moving and Emily moaned and they were both getting hot. “Show me your bedroom, sweetheart”…

Winter laid her on her bed. She kept kissing and rubbing her breasts. She was on the top of Emily’s body and she kissed and caressed her entire body gently. Emily was aroused and said “f*** me!”

***

“Thank you for last night, it was my first great experience having sex with a woman”, Emily kissed her cheek.

“I am happy if you like it, Em. I was worried that I could not satisfy you as you_”

“I felt so different, I mean, having sex with a man and a woman? You know what I mean?”, she kissed her lips. Jesse came to the locker and saw they were both kissing. She cleared her throat and said “Sorry to interrupt. Winter, can I talk to you, please?”

Winter looked at Emily and Jesse and said “Yes, of course!”. Do you want to talk now? Here? or_

“Not here”, Jesse said firmly.

Winter seemed to understand. “Em, would you mind leaving us, please? And I’ll give you a call later, okay?”

She nodded and kissed her lips before she left.

“So, are you going to talk to me here or somewhere else?”

“Let’s go to the King’s park”

“No, I don’t want to go there…um…Would you mind if I take you to my apartment? Sorry, I feel like I do not want to go somewhere, and I just want to go back to my home. I am really tired”

“Okay”

Shortly ten minutes after…

Jesse stood there stunned.  Winter’s apartment was amazing, light and bright, beautiful and quiet, leafy location and had a small garden with stunning mature exotic plants. “Let’s come inside and I’ll show you how amazing Perth city to have a look at from my balcony. C’est magnifique! “She said matter-of-factly.

“I could not agree more”, Jesse smiled.

“Okay, have a seat, please?”. They sat on the large black sofas in the living room facing to the big screen with a round aquarium table in the middle. The smells of lavender fragrance throughout the room made whoever sitting there feeling so comfortable and relax.

Jesse cleared the throat and said “ I_I apologise for being rude to you last time”

“Well, Jess, I’ve forgotten already and I_”

“Please, let me explain… I have been thinking a lot about myself. I mean, I was being dishonest to myself and you. When the first time, I saw you, I feel like you’re different. You’re unique to me and that’s why I like you. I_I fell in love with you. But…I ignored the feelings. I lied to myself. And it made me so frustrated. I am married and there is nothing that I can do about it. I invited you for the dinner last time as I really wanted to get to know you better. And when you kissed me. She paused. I-I’ve never felt the kiss like you did to me with anyone else before, including James. But I pushed you away. I was scared. And I couldn’t get you out of my head ever since. The more I tried to forget about you, the more I feel tortured my heart”, she looked at her desperately.

Winter moved closer and said “Jess, I like you too. You are a caring and loving person. You’ll always be there for me. But I have to lock up my feelings to you because I knew that you are a married woman. And I do not want to get hurt, Jess. I’ve had enough”.

“Not anymore”

“What do you mean, not anymore?”

“I am not a married woman anymore. I am divorced”, she said firmly.

“I am so sorry to hear that, but why did you divorce him? I mean, you have been married for 20 years, right?”

“There is no love between us anymore since our son died. We blamed each other. James always travelled and came home late. And we have been pretending to be a happy couple ever since. Life is too short. And I came to realise that I do not want to waste my time living in a cage without a love. And he agreed with the divorce. And I am free now”, she touched Winter’s face and cupped her hand on her cheek. Winter took her hand off and kissed it. She touched her cheek and kissed her lips very gently. Oh my, her lips are so tender, so tentative and so full. And she looked at Jesse’s face as if she was curious and waiting for her new experience and needing to be shown how much pleasure can be found in two women coming together. And Jesse felt relaxed and kissed her lips back. They kissed their lips passionately. Winter laid her on the sofa and her hand started to explore her body, unbuttoned her blouse and unzipped her pants. She stunned looking down at Jesse’s naked slim figure. Winter took her clothes off and kissed her neck and moved down to her body, kissing every inch of skin she crossed. Jesse started to wriggle beneath her. Winter kissed her ear and whispered “I love your smell, sweet and musky”. Jess smiled and said “I feel so good with you”.

They had made love on the sofa. Winter cuddled her from behind and said “you’re so wonderful and thank you for loving me”.

Jesse turned her body and took Winter’s hand and placed it on her breast. “I love you. I love you just the way you are!” she kissed her lips and smiled.

“It hurts to let go, but sometimes it hurts more to hold on”… Chloe, I cannot forget you, never will! You were a part of who I am now. You are in a better place. I hope, I will be happy with my life sooner or later, like I was with you, and can pursue my dreams. Thank you, my darling, BUT I still miss you anyway! xoxo          

                      

https://youtu.be/BqqPgA-yuuc

Chloe Benoît

Winter and Chloe has been a best friend for fifteen years and they decided to be a lover. They fell passionately in love. Though, sometimes they fight, it does not threaten their relationship. They’re attached to each other. Is their love going to be forever as they wish…Or…?

****

That night was so wonderful, fresh air cooling their mind and soul. The full moon shining on the city of Perth added an amazing atmosphere around. Winter and Chloe were holding hands together walking towards the King’s park. The park & Botanic Garden gave a great bird’s eye view of Perth; with the river growing city and expanses of greater Perth all in view. They spent around four hours walking around these extensive gardens atop the hill overlooking the city and could have enjoyed it even longer had they not had protested legs. They took the Federation Walkway and adored the spectacular views over the river as well as the treetop experience. They decided to relax a bit and sat on the bench. It was a romantic scene.

“Are you feeling cold, babe?”, Winter took off her jacket and wrapped Chloe’s shoulders.

“Thanks”, I think we did not expect that we will have windy tonight”, she said shaking.

“Yeah, but it’s good, isn’t it”, she blinked her eyes.

Winter sat closer and hugged her, “feeling better now?”

“Much better, thanks”, she kissed her and said “your cheeks were so cold, babe” she cupped her hands on Winter’s cheeks.

“That’s alright, hon, but my heart is warm, well, let’s make them all warm”, she smiled naughtily when she said that. Chloe nodded and smiled at her.

They hugged and pressed their lips and the tongue danced together under the moonlight. Winter kissed her long neck and went down to the breasts. She took off the jacket, folded and put it on the bench as a pillow. She unbuttoned Chloe’s blouse and unhooked the bra. Her hands rubbed her beautiful skin and touched her spot gently. Chloe moaned and she ran her hands up Winter’s back and took her shirt off so aggressively. They were half naked now. And shortly after, they had made love on the bench, in the night, in the cool air.

“We’d better hurry, darling, otherwise we’ll be caught by the security”, Chloe stood up and trying to find her blouse in the night.

“Yeah, that is not gonna be a sweet story if we are both in a jail, right?” She chuckled and helping Chloe hooked the bra.

Ten minutes later, they were already on the street and heading towards Winter’s car.

“So, are you going to stay with me or should I take you home”, Winter asked.

“I’d prefer to stay with you tonight”

“Cool, let’s go home, babe!”

“Wait!” Winter, there is something that I would like to tell you,” she held her hands and said “one day, if I leave you forever, you have to move on, pursue your dream. And just remember, I will take your love with me”.

Winter frowned and smiled “Why did you say that?” No, you are not going to leave me, baby. We will be together forever in love!” she kissed her and drove home fast.

Winter and Chloe had been best friends for fifteen years and they had decided to be a lover for the last five years. They were really sweet and romantic, and sometimes it made people get jealous especially heterosexual couple. Winter was small, charming and very attractive. She was actually introvert and had been struggling enough to meet a lot of people for arranging and attending some events. And the problem that she had been hiding was that she had been suffering from moderate manic depression. Only Chloe knew her better. She really understood what her partner had been through a life. She loved and cared about her so much more than herself, and very supportive. Chloe was younger than her and a jealous person. She thought most men and women liked Winter as she was charismatic and it made her pissed off and acted unreasonable sometimes. Chloe no matter what, had beautiful green eyes, shoulder-length brown hair and soft skin. And she was slender, very pretty and cute. She liked wearing blue jeans and a cardigan. And she was a fashion designer. And they both loved art.

Thirty minutes later, they had arrived home and straight up to the bedroom.

“So you are going to throw the party tomorrow night?” Chloe asked and taking her clothes off and grabbing a towel from the wardrobe.

“Yea, and I would love you to come, please?”

“Absolutely, love, I will be there for you”, Chloe kissed her lips and walking towards the shower.

And shortly after, Winter joined her.

***

On that morning, when Chloe was ready to leave the Winter’s house, she had caught that her partner was being seduced by one of her neighbors who brought her breakfast.  She knew the name was Cindy. She watched Winter had refused and thanked her for the breakfast. But then, Cindy pushed her in the corner and kissed her lips. Chloe saw that Winter kissed her back. Jealous seemed to burn. Chloe came out and yelling at Cindy to get out of the house.  They both were shocked.

“Cindy, thanks for the breakfast and please just leave us”, Winter said.

“No problem and it was lovely seeing you, Winter”, she smiled and winked.

Winter saw an angry looked on Chloe’s face, and apologised. And as usual, Chloe could not accept that.

“Chloe, please, I am so sorry…she was trying to seduce me and I refused”, she was trying to explain with a hope that Chloe will forgive her.

“I saw you refused, but I saw you kissing her!”, she yelled at her.

“I did not kiss her like the way I kissed you and that was only a light kiss as my express gratitude for the breakfast she sent for us!”

“Lying, you are a fucking liar!!!” she screamed and acting uncontrollably. She threw her mobile to Winter’s face. Winter was shocked and held her nose. Blood spouted through her fingers and flowing down to the lips. She winced in pain. Chloe panicked.

“I-I am so sorry…I-I didn’t mean to hurt you,”

“Just call the ambulance, please, I think you broke my nose”…

***

It was 09:00 am exactly as the alarm woke Winter up. She turned off the clock and felt so dizzy. She spent a great night with her girlfriends celebrating her success of the Interior Design event that she had arranged. She turned on the TV and clicked on the MTV channel. She listened to Wiz Khalifa’s song -See you again. And all of a sudden… I missed Paul Walker and I was wondering why? I did not even know him in person? Freak! She started to think how was the feeling going to be for losing the loved one? She could not imagine and she did not even want to think about it.

There was beep beep sound under the pillow and she reached her mobile phone. It’s Chloe. It had been a week that they have not met each other since the incident.

“Hey…what’s up”, she greeted reluctantly.

“I am okay, and how are you?” and is…is your nose getting better?

“Yes, it is”.

“Um.. I am so sorry that I hurt and let you down, and I am so sorry that I did not attend to your party”, Chloe said sadly.

“It’s okay. I’d postponed the party, and it was last night actually..”

“Oh..I did not know that,” she said with a disappointed. Winter, please, listen to me…I was jealous of Cindy. I was furious at that time when I saw you kissing her and I decided not to come to your party because I thought that you were still angry with me”.

There was a silence.

“Have you had fun?”

“Yea..okay, we’ve had fun”, Winter said shortly.

“Glad to hear it!”…Um, can I come to your place?

Silence again.

“Look. I sincerely apologise for what happened and I am so sorry. I’m fucked up! I screwed up everything! Winter….?”

“Yea”

“I-I miss you. Please, forgive me and I really want to see you”

Winter was still silent. She closed her eyes and finally said “Chloe, I miss you too but…I_”

“But what?” Chloe asked impatiently.

Winter swallowed hard and her voice’s cracked “Chloe, I do not know if we can go on with this relationship. We were great when we were still best friends and when we decided to have this relationship, I feel like you’ve changed. You seem very jealous and uncontrollable behavior. You know that I have been suffering from manic depression and sometimes I could not handle it without you. And if you continue acting like this, I’d better dead! I miss Chloe that I knew before.”

“So, you want to break up?” she was sobbing, tears welling into her eyes.

“No! Of course not! I love you and I need you. But I am just tired of your jealousy issue”.

Chloe wiped her tears and said “I’ve caught you many times flirting with other girls, how could that possibly you say that I shouldn’t be jealous?”

“They are all my clients or will be, I have to be nice to them, Chloe, for the sake of my business. And it is for you too”

“Yes, but you should’ve not slept with them, right?”

“I did not sleep with them”

“Yes! You slept with Cindy!”

There was a long pause.

And Winter finally said, “yes, I did. I’ve slept with Cindy when I knew that you were hanging out with Peter, your ex-boyfriend”

“Are you jealous?”

“No!! I am not jealous. I am just…um….yea, I think I am jealous” she whispered.

There was another long pause.

“Look, sweetheart. Let’s bury the hatchet. What I need now is to see you. I miss you desperately. I want you…. Please, let me come to your place and we can fix things up. That night at King’s Park was really a magic for me. You were wonderful and I want to spend the rest of my life with you…I love you”

“I love you, Chloe…more than you think and I miss you…”Bury the hatchet, eh?”

“Thank you, love, I will be there in thirty minutes!” she smiled happily.

Winter got up from the bed and taking a quick shower. She went to the shop to buy fillet snappers, prawns, some vegetables and a bottle of Chardonnay. She would make a barbeque for the lunch at her patio. That was what they both loved to do.

It had been an hour, Chloe did not show up. She had never come late. Winter was tempted to call to make sure if she was alright, but she ignored that feeling. She was hoping that she dropped by the shop to buy some fruits or she got stuck on the road and forgot to let her know that she would be late. But then, Winter had known her partner for a long time, and yet, she ignored what she felt about her for a moment until the phone rang.

***

Forty-five minutes later at St. John Hospital. Winter walked down to the aisle to see Dr. Morris. She saw two nurses pushed the patient in the wheelchair and holding the infusion hurried to the elevator. An old couple was crying and holding together sitting on the long white bench. And one doctor with the glasses was standing and talking on his mobile in front of his waiting room. She kept thinking about what had just happened to Chloe. She then looked at a young man bleeding in his head and stomach, and she heard that he was just being shot. It was terrifying view. She stood in front of the elevator and she saw a doctor approaching her.

“Hi, I am Doctor Morris and you must be…”

“I am Winter, Winter Monroe…I have got a_”

“Yes, I called you. I got your number from Ms. Benoit’s last call” and I think she tried to call you a few hours ago”

“Oh..and how is…how is…s-she?” she asked with a trembling voice.

Dr. Morris exhaled and held her shoulders “I am so sorry, Ms. Chloe Benoit had just passed away”

Winter’s tears were streaming down the cheeks, her body was shaking and she almost fell down and Dr. Morris held and hugged her immediately “I am so sorry once again to let you know this. And I would like to ask if you are going to be alright to see her in the mortuary?”

Winter choked and nodded.

Dr. Morris guided her to the mortuary and opened the door. Winter felt terrified. She saw so many metal boxes and thinking that one of them in the box was Chloe. A bright fashion designer that she had loved for fifteen years.

Dr. Morris pulled out the box. Winter stood freezing. Her face looked pale. She wiped the tears. She was utterly shocked that this beautiful face looked so collapsed. Chloe’s body was destroyed by the car crash. Her lips were trembling. She said nothing. She looked around and all was dark. She fell down and closed her eyes.

***

“It’s been a long day without you, my friend,

And I’ll tell you about it when I see you again

We’ve come a long way from where we began

Oh, I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again, When I see you again….”

 I hope so. She listened to that song again and tears kept falling down her cheeks. She felt her life was empty now. She felt she had no future anymore. She could understand that was the hardest emotionally people felt when they lost the loved one.

Chloe Benoit,

It must be very hard for me to handle this now. You’re my best friend and my lover.  And yes, sometimes we had problems and sometimes we fought. Sometimes we laughed and cried. You knew everything about me and I knew everything about you. And even though we had defects, we loved each other. Now, you’ve gone. You are in a better place now. I do not know what I do without you. I feel like I want to be with you, Chloe. But I remember the thing you said to me, that night at King’s park “That one day, if I leave you forever, you have to move on, pursue your dream. And just remember, I will take your love with me”.

Now, I got it, Chloe. I should move on…but I dunno, I dunno if I could handle this. I am alone now struggling with my depression and facing this wild world out there! It’s just really hard! I am very lucky to have you. You’re the only one who really understood me, knew what’s in my head. Life is just too short. I felt like it was just yesterday I met you. I wish I shouldn’t have made you angry. I wish I could have given you a better life. I wish I could turn back the clock…

Chloe, I love you and I miss you. Thank you for lighting up my life and bringing out the best in me.

With so much Love,

Winter Monroe

PS: “I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me” – Roy Croft.

 *In loving memory Charlotte*   https://youtu.be/RgKAFK5djSk