Free Until by Timmothy B. Mccann

DeltaDream on-line. I rarely tell anyone on theNet my name, but you seem safe enough. My real name is Betty. I don’t believe I got yours.
    DL AST R OMEO: Oh. My real name is Romeo. But please feel free to call me Drew. :)
    D ELTA D REAM: Cute. Well. Mr. Drew, it’s been nice chatting with you and I would love to chat again sometime. You are without a doubt one of the kindest men I’ve met on the Internet. I feel a little guilty to be in here typing with my friend in the bedroom. I hope I’m not ending our conversation too abruptly.
    DL AST R OMEO: Hey I’m sorry I kept you so long. It was nice chatting with you as well. And I’m sorry for wearing out that shoulder with my love life. If you ever need it. you can borrow mine sometime.

    Betty signed off of the computer and headed to the bedroom. She felt very fortunate to have Evander in her life. He was the one man she had met who seemed to understand her. He asked for nothing but her happiness. He gave her everything, including his love.
    Evander offered her moral support when she worked long and hard on a case and listened to her talk when she got depressed about problems at the firm. He could hold her like a child when she wanted to be a baby or wine her and dine her when she felt the need to be his lady.
    Her feelings for him were strong. Betty felt deep inside she loved Evander, but she had never said the L word out loud. She had never felt as strong about another man in her life, but for some reason, she knew once the word was uttered, her defenses would be down and she would be vulnerable.
    Betty’s foster parents, while they loved each other, were different from her mother and stepfather. She had never seen her foster parents show emotion toward each other. She never saw as much as a kiss or a gentle gesture shared between the two. One night she called her foster mother from law school and asked her about the affectionless union. She confided in Betty that although she felt they would always love each other, in twenty-eight years of marriage they had yet to say the words “I Love you.” Not even when theywere dating or on the night of their wedding. “But then again, we never had to. We just knew it,” she added. “And I’ll tell you something else, Betty Anne. People now’days toss that word around too much—so much I don’t think they even know what it means. Love is a powerful word. But if you love someone, you don’t have to say it to them. They’ll feel it. They’ll know. Always remember that. Never ever say ‘I love you,’ then you will know what I mean.”
    â€œYour feet cold, baby,” Evander mumbled as she snuggled closer to him in bed.
    â€œI know. I couldn’t find my slippers.”
    Evander eased out from the covers, took her childhood comforter from the antique oak chest at the foot of the bed, and placed it at her feet. He then went into the living room to turn on her Vivaldi CD, before he returned to their spooning position.
    â€œThank you, boo.”
    â€œYou feel comfy?” Evander asked in the midst of a fatigued yawn.
    â€œI do now,” she said, and snuggled closer to him. After a pregnant pause, Betty looked up at her ceiling fan and said, “Vander?”
    â€œYes, honey?”
    â€œWill it always be this good?”
    â€œI hope so, baby,” he said with sleep blanketing his tired voice. “I hope so.” Evander kissed her behind the ear, gave her a teddy-bear hug to draw her even closer to his warmth, and then returned to sleep.
Saturday
    Seven A.M. came earlier than it used to, or at least it seemed as such to Betty. As she pulled the cover from over her head, she looked at the clock with disdain. I got a whole five hours’ sleep? she thought as she hit the snooze button.
    As she lay in bed, she thought about her hair. This was without question a hot-curl morning. Although she knew Evander well, she did not know him