Salt & Vinegar Ch. 04

I stroked her hair and she tilted her head to look up at me. That light in her eyes takes my breath away.

"Don't move", I whispered softly to her.

I reached back and fumbled for my mobile on the lamp table beside the sofa. I found it, activated the camera and framed her face quickly to take a shot. I looked at the frozen image for a long moment, smiling. I'd finally got her. There, reflected in the deep, inky pools at the centre of those lustrous blue irises was a glint. Everything that was Jus when she opened her soul to you with that look of pure love and trust. Her heart, her love, her very being.

"Show me."

I passed over the phone and she examined the image for a few moments.

"Hey, I actually I look OK."

"OK? You're bloody gorgeous Jus!"

I tossed the phone back on the table and gathered her into my arms again. I nuzzled her neck and then whispered into her ear.

"I love you so much, Justine."

She turned her head to look at me. Those wonderful eyes found mine again.

"I know, babe. I love you too. I'm yours forever."

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EPILOGUE: JUSTINE

So here we were. Two lovers, heads together in that precious moment which someone years ago likened to breathing forth our love for each other, letting our souls blend in a soft whisper. Salt and vinegar? I wasn't so sure any more. We're still very different but we've got a little bit more of each other in us now. More yin and yang perhaps; two halves of a whole. No longer separate elements thrust together in a savage, chaotic fusion, but a more balanced, calmer, twin-soul being.

I was idly musing on this to Lena later that night as I stripped the covers from the couch for their next trip to the dry cleaners. She was framing her picture of me. It was destined for the wall montage and she'd spent a good part of the afternoon rearranging the entire collection around it. She'd finally got it to her satisfaction and I had to admit I liked the idea of me on display, centred there amongst Lena's treasured work. It gave me a warm, gooey feeling.

"What the fuck are you rambling on about Jus?" she asked distractedly as she reassembled the backing and frame.

"I'm 'rambling', you insensitive girl, about us. How we've each changed and become a little bit less different and more, sort of, blended. You know, like oil and water emulsified in salad dressing."

"You talk the weirdest shit sometimes, Jus, you know that right? Wait, I've got it."

She looked over at me with a raised eyebrow and a dirty smirk.

"Not salad dressing – 'sauce'!"

We both roared with laughter. I dropped the cushion covers and walked toward her with open arms.

"So are you done with that frame yet? Come to bed you saucy bitch."

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FIN

A note for those interested in literary details. The word 'aeternum' in Justine's tattoo is Latin for 'forever'. In the first paragraph of this last section, Justine is paraphrasing (somewhat out of context) part of a quotation from 19th century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.

Finally, I hope you enjoyed the Salt & Vinegar series as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks to everyone who read, scored and provided feedback, encouraging me to expand Lena and Justine's adventures beyond the initial story.

Jett