He just smiled, grabbing her hand lightly. Pulling her out the door, he never once spoke a word. Suddenly, turning sharply, he bent down and kissed away the tears that were making their way down her beautiful face.

“Justin, I don’t understand,” she moaned, amazed at the love he was radiating.

“Shh, Karen. Just sit still. You’ll see.”

Justin opened the door to the red Mercedes, chivalrously offering a hand to the love of his life.

*~*FLASHBACK*~*

A cell phone ring sliced through the air, disrupting the calm that had presided over the meeting. Justin realized, embarrassingly, that the ring belonged to his own phone.

Stepping out of the air-conditioned room, he flipped the phone open, barking harshly into the receiver.

“Don’t you know never to call me when I’m working?” he said, still clueless as to the identity of the caller.

A muffled sob drifted to his ear. He knew that voice all too well, and immediately felt guilty for haranguing her.

“Karen, baby? What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Justin asked, concerned, all anger dissipating from his angelic voice.

“I’m fine. It’s just. It’s just. I-, I-, I got fired.”

Justin gasped. “From the observatory? Why? You’ve worked there for 5 years! You love that place! How could they fire you? They underpaid you! Isn’t that enough?”

“Apparently not,” she replied, bitterly. Karen burst into tears, occasional hiccups interrupting her steady flow of sobs.

Justin’s heart broke with every gasp. He knew how much she loved her job; how much she was willing to sacrifice to work there.

“If they’re stupid enough to fire you, then you shouldn’t have been working there in the first place. You’re much better then that, sweetie.”

Karen tried to control her hysterics, but failed miserably.

“Oh, Justin. I just want to fly away. Everything is going wrong!”

“Don’t worry, babe. As soon as this meeting is over, I’ll be by your side to make you feel better. I know just what you need.”

*~*END FLASHBACK*~*

Justin turned the ignition and drove away from their country house. The hot sun beat down upon them, but they both felt contented. Together, they drove into eternity. Karen felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. Just a chance to feel the breeze and watch the wildlife with her fiancé seemed to whisk away the tears she had so often cried.

She stared lovingly at Justin, taking in the sweet smell of dewed grass as she gazed. The earth was bowing to them. As they drove off into the sunset, like a scene from a movie, Karen remembered the words Justin had whispered to her just an hour before.

“Let’s take a ride.”

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