Alezandra Tolliver

June sprawled herself across her mattress. the tiny fan on her dresser was working overtime as the only source of relief. Earlier that day, June spent the day moving the fan throughout her tiny trailer because her AC went out. She thought that she’d get a reprieve come nighttime, but it never came as she kicked on the sheets on her bed. She tossed and turned, spending most of the night dozing but never fully reaching the escape of deep sleep. She heard the front door open and sat up. She tensed as she listened to footsteps make their way the short distance to her bedroom. She relaxed as a familiar figure occupied her door frame.

“Sorry, did I wake you,” Len asked.

“No, it’s too hot to sleep,” she said. She watched as he sat on the bed to take off his boots. She idly rubbed his back.

“You should’ve got Mike’s old AC when he offered.”

“I didn’t need it.”

“I’ll take a look at yours tomorrow.” He turned towards her as he tossed his last boot. “I got the day off.”

She raised up barely containing her smile, “You got the day off?”

“Yup,” he said as he pecked her on the lips. He stood up to undress and made his way to her cramped bathroom. June moved over and relaxed into the mattress. Minutes later, she felt a dip in a bed and a damp arm lay across her belly. She rubbed his arm.

“You’re sweaty” he commented into the pillow already half asleep.

“Not my fault,” she said, half-heartedly kicking his leg.

“Tomorrow.” He pulled her closer despite the heat. She followed without resistance.

“Tomorrow.”

—

He spent most of the morning working on the old air conditioning unit. June spent the time reading and watching her boyfriend cuss out the stubborn piece of junk. After they placed it in the window, she went inside to plug it in. She turned the knob and it rattled to life hitting her with a burst of cool air. She lifted her shirt so that it could make contact with her balmy flesh. She took Len a glass of lemonade. Later, the pair shared a cold shower. They threw on clothes and lounged on the couch. For a moment the only noise was the rattling machine cooling the small trailer. They wrapped around each as if they were making up for the night before when heat overtook their embrace and forced them to seek solace from each other. “So, what do you want to do today,” she asked. His lips pursed as he thought. “I want to show you something,” he said rather shyly. She waited for an explanation that never came. He only grinned in a way a man does when he’s keeping secrets. June was curious but not worried, she knew the kind of secrets he tended to keep. At least she hoped so. She grabbed her crossbody bag and shades and they got into his truck and drove.

They stopped at Bennie’s a small restaurant downtown that the frequented. They’d meet there for dinner since Len worked during the day and her shift at the bar began in the evening. They managed to make the most of the small amount of time they had, getting lost in each other’s words until Marian, the best waitress ever, would politely interrupt to tell them that she’d better start the short walk to work. Marian often sat to talk with Len after June left. She said she only seen men who looked as forlorn as Len did when we watch June walk away when they lost their last at the casinos. They became close friends, and Len even started walking her to her car after her shifts.

They squeezed into a booth and ordered lunch. She tried to wrestle more information about their ultimate destination, but Len playfully fought her off. Marian lingered at their table after she brought their drinks and food. She laid a hand on June’s shoulder as Len and her made small talk. Marian glanced between them, tossing a small knowing smile to June whenever she caught her looking. It reminded June of Len from earlier, but she dismissed it as she listened to them talk about her kids. Marian left to tend to other customers, and a comfortable silence fell among them. Len watched June eat. She made a neat circle of ketchup on a small plate, then she cut her burger in half. She neatly dipped one half of it in the ketchup before taking a bite, doing a small dance in seat that she’d adamantly deny she did if he brought it up. Her cheeks rounded in a smile as she chewed. He couldn’t help but see a chipmunk stocking up for winter and laughed to himself. The chuckle caught her attention.

“What’s so funny,” she asked. He grabbed a napkin and reached over to wipe a smear of ketchup on the corner of her mouth before going back to his food. She smiled in thanks.

—

They rode through town, June waved to people she knew as they passed. They made their way to a neighborhood on the other side of town where she saw people taking advantage of a significantly cooler summer day. children chased each other and people walked their dogs. Some tended their yards and washed their cars. She got caught up in watching everyone that she hadn’t noticed when he stopped the truck. “I said we’re here.” “Oh.” She got out of the truck and looked up towards a house. He made his way around the truck and grabbed her hand. She remembered this house, and it looked better than the last time she saw it, which isn’t say much since it was doing a fine job mimicking the house from Texas Chainsaw Massacre before. This must be the house he’s helping Dennis with. Dennis was Len’s boss from the mill. Dennis flipped houses on occasion with a small team, and recently Len started helping with the last couple of houses to make extra money. She pushed down the worry, but as they maneuvered the loose steps on the front porch and ducked under the unstable frame of the door, she couldn’t believe he’d been spending his evenings in a potential death trap. “This is the place I’ve been working on with Dennis,” he stated proudly as he began the tour. He showed her room after room, making sure she didn’t trip over piles of wood and trash. They still had a lot to do, but they finally settled on a layout and had begun knocking out walls and replacing wood. June could see the vision as he described it. She saw the image in her mind clear as day as she pictured the view to the living room from the kitchen after the floorplan would be opened. She could feel the warm glow from the natural light after they’d replace the plywood for tall windows. She could see herself in the tiny nook at the top of the stairs that looked down into the backyard that would be perfect for reading. She felt the grasp tightened and turned back to him. She smiled but not fully, “How much does Dennis think he could flip it for?” “He has other plans for it.” She nodded. Len stared at her, and she knew he knew what she was thinking. His gaze softened. She didn’t want him to feel bad, so she did her best to perk up. “It’s going to look great when ya’ll finish. Whoever it gets it will be lucky.”

“It’s ours.” June stilled. She watched Len’s face looking for it to crack, waiting for the punch line. He stared back resolutely, almost defiant.

“Don’t lie to me, Lennie.”

“I’d never lie to you, June.” She felt tears threaten to fall, a tightening in her throat left her speechless. Len never broke eye contact as he pulled a small metallic circle from his back pocket. “It’s a wedding gift from Dennis.” He closed the distance between them and gingerly reached for her hand which trembled softly. “And Marian helped me pick this out.” June couldn’t look anywhere but into Len’s watering eyes.

“June Anthony, would you d-,” she cut him off with a kiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck pressed herself against him, she prayed that somehow the yes was translated. Just to make sure, she peppered his face with kisses interjected with soft yeses before finding his lips again.

Cars drove by and pedestrians walked down the sidewalk in front of the house, but in that old eye sore, June and Len were in their own world where time didn’t matter. Moments passed as they held each other, as they felt their world expand on a microscopic level, as the lives made room for the new.

“You really want to want to be with me,” she said, still incredulous.

“Forever,” he spoke into her shoulder. She felt herself melt into him as the word passed from his lips.

“Forever.”