I originally wrote The Kiss in March 2007... posted March 3rd 2007 on the OKZFC and the ORNFC Boards. It
is a pleasure to share it on the GLC Board!! The sl follows Josh's arrest and sentence for murder originally aired (March/April of 2007 air dates).
The Kiss
Josh felt the blow, in one single, seamless move- fist met face and the dance began. He didn't even see it coming. Oh yes, the threat was there forever looming but the blow….the blow is what held the message. Adding insult to injury, his face met the metal support beam on his journey to the ground. He lay on the cold, damp floor - tasting shoes. He didn't move. He just drifted away to a sunny day, a boat coming towards him, a smiling woman, blond hair, white dress so beautiful. Her hand met his, and he mumbled,
"Reva..." he thought so soft, so sweet, so real.
He heard movements, a strange man's voice gruffly yelling out orders, then silence as he drifted back to the boat, setting herself on crystal waters, and the soft touch of Reva's hands.
"How long has he been like this?" Reva asked breathless from her trek up the prison stairs.
When she got the call she couldn't believe it. Why she was on his contact list she wasn't sure. All she cared about were the words Frank had told her,
"Reva, you gotta come to the prison as soon as possible..."
The rest was a huge blur of phrases circling her already racing mind. Josh has been hurt, a fight, attacked, out cold, please hurry, these same words repeatedly echoed through her head as worsening thoughts played hide and seek in the clouds of her mind.
He lay in the infirmary, a huge glaring bruise was beginning to cover his left eye, dried blood stained his lower lip. She sighed at the sight of him, so broken and still.
"He's been out for a while. I'm so sorry this is happening to... to both of you." Frank offered sorrow masked by the policy in his voice.
"I wasn't sure if I should...well...I wasn't sure if I should call you or Cassie, but the way she's been acting lately I figured you were the best option. I hope you are not offended." the uncertainty in his voice understandable.
"No, no Frank, of course it was ok to call, we all know what Josh means to me even though..." her voice trailed off, her thoughts lost to the moment.
Josh let out a soft low moan.
"I'll leave you for a minute. It isn't regulation, but well..." Frank smiled sadly turning to leave the room.
Pausing he turned back recapturing the thought and said, "but well, poor guy looks like he's in need of his best friend or something." The door shut behind him.
The sun felt so warm on them, as Josh looked into Reva's eyes. Her face upturned, that unmistakable mischievous grin meeting him. Once again he was enraptured by the story her eyes wove. He sighed, and returned the smile.
Reva looked around the room, so cold and clinical. Josh, just a sheet covering him, looked so bare. She went to a cupboard and began rooting inside. She found a blanket, not quite soft and inviting, but at least warmer then the sheet and carried it over to where he lay. She shook the blanket open and then gently covered him with it. She studied the lines of his face, so much like a sleeping child, the ugly bruise showing like ink spilled across white writing paper. Her heart ached for another time, another place, as she studied his lips and the bloodstain beside them. Amazing the paths life takes you on, surely she thought, this was a journey they both could have done without.
Still smiling, Josh leaned in, drinking in the sweet smell of Reva's neck. She always smelled so good, so much like home. Everyone was watching and waiting, yet he felt suspended in time, just the two of them now and an empty canvas before them, with pockets fully of memories to look back on. Josh shivered suddenly despite the warmth of the day.
Reva saw the blankets move as Josh stirred, a shiver of sorts coming over him. She pulled the blanket up to his chin and rested her head on his chest circling her arm around him. So close she could hear his heart beating the gentle rhythm threatening to lull her to sleep.
"God Josh, how I long for that sound." She whispered, closing her eyes to the reality of the room before her.
Josh felt her warmth surround him, and like a diver surfacing from the depths of the ocean he saw Reva, and the warm safe sunny place dissolving before him. She felt his breath come in an uneven ragged sound and raised her head in time to meet his gaze.
Confused, Josh drank in the moment, not quite sure which was the dream and which the reality. He knew at once this for certain, regardless of which was which, Reva was there. He could smell her, taste her, feel her in every fiber of his being. He tried to smile but caught himself wincing at the pain. His eye was swelling shut he could feel it, he must be a sight. Embarrassed, he dropped his gaze. What must he be putting her through, he wondered.
Reva smiled touching him just below the cut on his lip, her fingers light as angel's wings caressed this familiar face before her.
"Aw Bud, it's going to be ok, sad to say though boxing isn't your sport." Her eyes danced with laughter from her words. He wondered how she was always able to make a bad situation not quite so awful.
"Don't be so sure. Next time maybe I'll get to throw a punch or two." He replied though he knew his voice betrayed him.
"Is that really what you want, Bud, a next time." Reva asked, her voice touched with sadness.
He was afraid, afraid he'd made a decision so wrong that he could never right it again. Forever the man, set in defending his family he realized he'd let some of them slip away like sand through his fingers. Yet this one piece... this one piece stayed constant, the shore that he raged upon always met the challenge. Here she was right here waiting to be pulled under again. He cried, tears silently falling from his eyes. Reaching to wipe one away, he came in contact with the bruise and shuddered.
Reva saw the pain; she felt the embarrassment and took it in stride. He had made a decision that she did not agree with, but she sympathized in the sense that she too had walked a similar road. Living with yourself and your decisions can be a torture that cuts to the very depths of the soul. My God the words she uttered in court, he had asked her to, that he could shoot someone still rang in her ears. They would haunt her every day he sat in that prison cell.
His body shook overcome with emotion the flood gate opened.
"No…oh no, no, no Reva... I want to come home." His voice was barely a whisper held on waves of tears.
Sadly, he thought to himself how he felt so right in this moment with her, not longing for Cassie or their life, just for that warm summer day from his dream to erase this cold room form existence.
All at once Reva wrapped around him, climbing into the bed and sending her mind to a day months ago when she lay dying and he held her. She knew her greatest mistake was made that day, giving, forcing Josh and Cassie. She also knew as she held him that he was dying now too, a soul reaching out for something to cling to, something to validate its existence before it too disappeared. She would not allow him to slip away from her either.
"You are home Josh, as long as I live and breathe, and long after, you will always be home wherever I am." She kissed his face over and over again as her words caressed his battered soul.
"Too much hurt Josh, too much; we need forgiveness now. You don't belong here we have to make this right. " Her voice pleaded. Tears slowly found their way out of the of her eyes, painting them an ocean blue. They sat silently together, a watercolor picture.
"Hold onto me Reva, I feel so alone without you, please hold onto me," Josh pleaded.
Reva had never heard such urgency in his voice; she had never seen such defeat in his eyes.
She tightened her embrace for a moment, then pulled away. Reaching for her, he tried to hold her to him. She grabbed his face holding it in her hands and looked so deeply into his eyes until she felt her breath catch as she captured his soul.
"Joshua Lewis, " she whispered "I never let you go, and I never will. I've been holding you since the day we laid eyes on each other and there isn't anything that's ever, ever gonna change that." Then she leaned in, looking directly into his eyes, closing hers, she slowly touched her lips to his.
He kissed back for all their love was worth, lip hurting, soul burning, he just exploded inside. He knew she was right. She would never let him go, never let him fall into the unknown. Truth be known, he was still holding her too. No matter what, he always had one foot firmly planted where it should be - next to her, her love surrounding them, faults, mistakes and all.
…ALWAYS!
- By Tania Roberts
The Kiss
Josh felt the blow, in one single, seamless move- fist met face and the dance began. He didn't even see it coming. Oh yes, the threat was there forever looming but the blow….the blow is what held the message. Adding insult to injury, his face met the metal support beam on his journey to the ground. He lay on the cold, damp floor - tasting shoes. He didn't move. He just drifted away to a sunny day, a boat coming towards him, a smiling woman, blond hair, white dress so beautiful. Her hand met his, and he mumbled,
"Reva..." he thought so soft, so sweet, so real.
He heard movements, a strange man's voice gruffly yelling out orders, then silence as he drifted back to the boat, setting herself on crystal waters, and the soft touch of Reva's hands.
"How long has he been like this?" Reva asked breathless from her trek up the prison stairs.
When she got the call she couldn't believe it. Why she was on his contact list she wasn't sure. All she cared about were the words Frank had told her,
"Reva, you gotta come to the prison as soon as possible..."
The rest was a huge blur of phrases circling her already racing mind. Josh has been hurt, a fight, attacked, out cold, please hurry, these same words repeatedly echoed through her head as worsening thoughts played hide and seek in the clouds of her mind.
He lay in the infirmary, a huge glaring bruise was beginning to cover his left eye, dried blood stained his lower lip. She sighed at the sight of him, so broken and still.
"He's been out for a while. I'm so sorry this is happening to... to both of you." Frank offered sorrow masked by the policy in his voice.
"I wasn't sure if I should...well...I wasn't sure if I should call you or Cassie, but the way she's been acting lately I figured you were the best option. I hope you are not offended." the uncertainty in his voice understandable.
"No, no Frank, of course it was ok to call, we all know what Josh means to me even though..." her voice trailed off, her thoughts lost to the moment.
Josh let out a soft low moan.
"I'll leave you for a minute. It isn't regulation, but well..." Frank smiled sadly turning to leave the room.
Pausing he turned back recapturing the thought and said, "but well, poor guy looks like he's in need of his best friend or something." The door shut behind him.
The sun felt so warm on them, as Josh looked into Reva's eyes. Her face upturned, that unmistakable mischievous grin meeting him. Once again he was enraptured by the story her eyes wove. He sighed, and returned the smile.
Reva looked around the room, so cold and clinical. Josh, just a sheet covering him, looked so bare. She went to a cupboard and began rooting inside. She found a blanket, not quite soft and inviting, but at least warmer then the sheet and carried it over to where he lay. She shook the blanket open and then gently covered him with it. She studied the lines of his face, so much like a sleeping child, the ugly bruise showing like ink spilled across white writing paper. Her heart ached for another time, another place, as she studied his lips and the bloodstain beside them. Amazing the paths life takes you on, surely she thought, this was a journey they both could have done without.
Still smiling, Josh leaned in, drinking in the sweet smell of Reva's neck. She always smelled so good, so much like home. Everyone was watching and waiting, yet he felt suspended in time, just the two of them now and an empty canvas before them, with pockets fully of memories to look back on. Josh shivered suddenly despite the warmth of the day.
Reva saw the blankets move as Josh stirred, a shiver of sorts coming over him. She pulled the blanket up to his chin and rested her head on his chest circling her arm around him. So close she could hear his heart beating the gentle rhythm threatening to lull her to sleep.
"God Josh, how I long for that sound." She whispered, closing her eyes to the reality of the room before her.
Josh felt her warmth surround him, and like a diver surfacing from the depths of the ocean he saw Reva, and the warm safe sunny place dissolving before him. She felt his breath come in an uneven ragged sound and raised her head in time to meet his gaze.
Confused, Josh drank in the moment, not quite sure which was the dream and which the reality. He knew at once this for certain, regardless of which was which, Reva was there. He could smell her, taste her, feel her in every fiber of his being. He tried to smile but caught himself wincing at the pain. His eye was swelling shut he could feel it, he must be a sight. Embarrassed, he dropped his gaze. What must he be putting her through, he wondered.
Reva smiled touching him just below the cut on his lip, her fingers light as angel's wings caressed this familiar face before her.
"Aw Bud, it's going to be ok, sad to say though boxing isn't your sport." Her eyes danced with laughter from her words. He wondered how she was always able to make a bad situation not quite so awful.
"Don't be so sure. Next time maybe I'll get to throw a punch or two." He replied though he knew his voice betrayed him.
"Is that really what you want, Bud, a next time." Reva asked, her voice touched with sadness.
He was afraid, afraid he'd made a decision so wrong that he could never right it again. Forever the man, set in defending his family he realized he'd let some of them slip away like sand through his fingers. Yet this one piece... this one piece stayed constant, the shore that he raged upon always met the challenge. Here she was right here waiting to be pulled under again. He cried, tears silently falling from his eyes. Reaching to wipe one away, he came in contact with the bruise and shuddered.
Reva saw the pain; she felt the embarrassment and took it in stride. He had made a decision that she did not agree with, but she sympathized in the sense that she too had walked a similar road. Living with yourself and your decisions can be a torture that cuts to the very depths of the soul. My God the words she uttered in court, he had asked her to, that he could shoot someone still rang in her ears. They would haunt her every day he sat in that prison cell.
His body shook overcome with emotion the flood gate opened.
"No…oh no, no, no Reva... I want to come home." His voice was barely a whisper held on waves of tears.
Sadly, he thought to himself how he felt so right in this moment with her, not longing for Cassie or their life, just for that warm summer day from his dream to erase this cold room form existence.
All at once Reva wrapped around him, climbing into the bed and sending her mind to a day months ago when she lay dying and he held her. She knew her greatest mistake was made that day, giving, forcing Josh and Cassie. She also knew as she held him that he was dying now too, a soul reaching out for something to cling to, something to validate its existence before it too disappeared. She would not allow him to slip away from her either.
"You are home Josh, as long as I live and breathe, and long after, you will always be home wherever I am." She kissed his face over and over again as her words caressed his battered soul.
"Too much hurt Josh, too much; we need forgiveness now. You don't belong here we have to make this right. " Her voice pleaded. Tears slowly found their way out of the of her eyes, painting them an ocean blue. They sat silently together, a watercolor picture.
"Hold onto me Reva, I feel so alone without you, please hold onto me," Josh pleaded.
Reva had never heard such urgency in his voice; she had never seen such defeat in his eyes.
She tightened her embrace for a moment, then pulled away. Reaching for her, he tried to hold her to him. She grabbed his face holding it in her hands and looked so deeply into his eyes until she felt her breath catch as she captured his soul.
"Joshua Lewis, " she whispered "I never let you go, and I never will. I've been holding you since the day we laid eyes on each other and there isn't anything that's ever, ever gonna change that." Then she leaned in, looking directly into his eyes, closing hers, she slowly touched her lips to his.
He kissed back for all their love was worth, lip hurting, soul burning, he just exploded inside. He knew she was right. She would never let him go, never let him fall into the unknown. Truth be known, he was still holding her too. No matter what, he always had one foot firmly planted where it should be - next to her, her love surrounding them, faults, mistakes and all.
…ALWAYS!
- By Tania Roberts
