They saw each other every day for the next three days. Yet during those brief days, they spent so much time together and visited many beautiful places that those days felt like a lifetime. On their last day together, they walked on the golden sandy beach, took a boat into the sea, jet-skied, enjoyed lunch in a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean Sea; afterward they drove up into the mountains, had dinner overlooking the deep valleys, and watched the sun sink down into the red colored sea.
“I will be back soon,” Gabriel declared.
“Do you think when you come back, we will still be close to each other – like we are now?” she asked, worry showing itself clearly on her face.
He assured her that everything will be just the same, then he tried to kiss her. She pushed him away gently.
“Gabriel, you may laugh at what I am about to tell you, but that’s fine with me because I am convinced that it is the right thing to do.”
“What is it?” Gabriel asked, trying to smile, but seeing her face made him realize the seriousness of what she was about to tell him.
“I am keeping my first kiss to be my wedding gift to my husband. That’s why I have been stopping you very gently from kissing me, not because I don’t like you… Oh Gabriel, the feelings I am experiencing are so foreign to me; sometimes I feel as if my heart is going to break free from my chest because it is so full of joy and…love.” The last word was barely audible as she blushed and looked down.
He put his hand under her chin and lifted up her beautiful face, looking lovingly into her beautiful dreaming big eyes.
“I am not laughing,” he said seriously. “Now I know that I will have to marry you to get those kisses I’ve been trying to get.” He smiled.
“Don’t joke, Gabriel. You barely know me.”
“I am not joking! I know all that I need to know; I know that I love you, dear Joyce. I loved you the first moment I saw you, and I know I always will.”
They embraced tightly, hoping to make time stand still – and this moment last a lifetime.
***
Gabriel’s voice began to fade, but Joyce’s mind was racing. She remembered what happened next as if it were yesterday. She saw the two of them at the airport, Gabriel assuring her that he will call often and write to her as well; he implored her to call him and to remember him – and not to forget their time together.
She saw herself as she looked that day, a puzzled look on her face, as she wondered why Gabriel would call and write to her, since they lived so far away from each other. Although she longed to be with him, she was sure that she would never see him again. The thought filled her with sadness, and their goodbye was a tearful one.