Blue Paint & Red Lights

"How did you even get here? I never told you about the reunion. It kept slipping my mind."
Antti and I slowly walked through the hallways of my old high school, his dress shoes making pleasant tapping against the linoleum, my heels making clicking noises underneath the cadence of the music still pouring out of the gymnasium.

"Angelina put me on the train after I told her I needed to know where you were. She was the only one who really knew about this. Karolina never called me back from Marian's phone." Antti scratched the back of his neck with his right hand, leaving the left still holding hands with my right. I chuckled and nodded, understanding his dilemma. I was surprised he even had her number in the first place.
"Gina even called your dad so he could pick me up from the station and drop me off here. I thought the car ride would be awkward, but it really wasn't." He added afterwards.
"My dad really likes you." I replied, swinging our joined hands slightly as we approached the gym again and stopped walking. "How about I go say goodbye to my friends and you and I hit the road and be back in Chicago before the sun rises?" I smiled up at him, moving my eyebrows up and down.
"Sounds like a plan."
--

We rode out that late that night, after saying bye to all my high school friends and leaving my parent's house. There was no music in the car, our ears still ringing from the loud speakers and acoustics of the gym. It was a pleasant silence, only broken by soft words of devotion. I allowed Antti to drive us home in my SUV and when he apologized again for "being dull", his hand lifted momentarily from the wheel to slam back into it, followed by a groan.
"I feel like crap for having you leave. It was stupid." Antti lamented.
"It's fine. You needed your time and in a healthy, working relationship, I'm willing to give you some time and space." I reasoned logically, waving my hand gently through the air.
"I shouldn't have needed time and space, Samantha." He glanced over before flicking on the turn signal and changing lanes. I could hear the strain in his voice and I sighed loudly.
"It's normal. Maybe one day I'll need some space." My words seemed to have a negative effect on him. "Not that I will any time soon, I've had enough of being away from you, yeah?"
"Hyvä, koska en tunne kuin olisi sinulta pois myöskään." Antti said quickly in Finnish. Before I could ask him about the words I didn't understand, I was reminded of the girl who basically started this. A searing feeling of hate raged through my chest before I attempted to squelch it. Antti loves me, he's married to me. The non-jealous inner voice reasoned with the rest of my body. My posture relaxed and the ride continued light-hearted with simple Finnish language lessons. We both fell in love with someone who didn't speak our native tongue but for some abstract reason, it never felt more perfect.

When we arrived at home it was late and our clothes were soon shed, leaving us naked and curled against each other underneath the thick comforter. Knowing that I don't think I could live without this feeling of him against me and wrapped around me worried me briefly before the thought flitted away when Antti smiled shyly, resting his forehead against mine.
"Rakastan sinua." He whispered, the words soft but rang in my ears. Those were some of the first Finnish words Antti taught me. A simple phrase but the infliction with which he spoke it said more than the actual words. I knew exactly how to reply and the letters formed in my mind before I whispered back, "Olet sydäntäni ja ilmassa." My tongue made the words sound different then intended but I believe the point was made because his eyes lit up slightly and he placed a gentle kiss against my lips.

"Voimmeko saada koira nyt?" I understood a couple words that he said and it told me all I needed to know. I laughed quietly before replying.
"Tomorrow- Christmas Eve, we'll hit the shelter before it closes and look at the puppies, okay?"
After patiently waiting for me to finish, he peppered my face with kisses and then said, "Mmhmm. Thank you. Sleep now. Early start tomorrow." Another kiss on my lips and his eyes closed as he managed to scoot my body closer to his and he wrapped his strong arms around me and pulled me in. I could see the almost-invisible glint of Antti's gold chain adorning his neck before I too, closed my eyes.