My Butterfly

job is about as dangerous as mine,” he said.
    I cocked my head to the side and sent Jeff a puzzled look.
    “Yeah, I burned myself last week,” Jeff said, nodding his head. “It was like a third-degree burn. Those hamburger grills are hot.”
    I laughed.
    “So, back to MY point,” Jeff continued. “Your job is a real buzzkill for our weekends, not that I mind hangin’ out with your beautiful girlfriend all night—every night.”
    He smiled and winked in Julia’s direction. Julia rolled her eyes and smiled back at him.
    “I get it,” I said. “Julia, baby, can you forgive me for leaving you with this sorry example of a man? You know I never want to leave you.”
    She looked into my eyes. It was dark all around us, but there was a ray from the little porch light that hit her eyes just right and made them sparkle.
    “I know,” she said, softly smiling. “I know.”
    She took my hand with both of her hands, kissed it and brought it to her lap.
    “And Jeff,” I said, “how ‘bout we go fishin’ next week?”
    He rolled his eyes.
    “All right,” he said, starting to crack a smile. “But you can’t buy me off forever.”
    My eyes returned to Julia then, and she sent me a sweet, comforting smile, which instantly melted my heart. She looked so pretty, so perfect. I couldn’t imagine not having her in my life.
    I smiled back and then brought my lips to her ear.
    “I love you, babe,” I whispered.

Chapter Eleven
    A Movie
     
     
    I opened the door, and she rushed in and threw her arms around me. I caught her and squeezed her close. Then, she pulled away and pressed her lips against mine.
    “Let’s go out,” she said, pulling on the end of my tee shirt.
    “Out?” I asked, laughing.
    “Yeah,” she said. “We can go to Max’s or I heard that there’s this new place in Chester.”
    “Or,” I said, taking a long, dramatic pause. “Or we could order pizza and watch a movie. What’s that one you wanted to see?”
    I watched as, first, her smile and then her face turned down toward the floor.
    “But we watched a movie the last time I was here,” she said, sounding discouraged.
    “I know, babe, but I had a call this morning, and I didn’t get to bed until four,” I said. “Why don’t we do that next time?”
    Her face turned up toward mine again.
    “You said that last time,” she said. “And I thought you were coming to see me next time.”
    “Oh,” I said, taking a moment to think back. “Oh, I’m so sorry, babe. I’m on-call the next two weekends. They kind of don’t bother me during the week so much because of the paramedic classes. You know, they said I need that certification if I ever want a full-time firefighter gig.”
    I watched as she slowly nodded her head.
    “But that means they really count on me for the weekends sometimes, and they needed me those weekends,” I said.
    Her stare fell to the hard floor again, and I used the back of my hand to gently lift her chin up so that I could see her pretty eyes.
    “Babe, I love you a million times a million,” I said. “It won’t always be like this. We won’t always be far apart.”
    Her lips stayed planted where they were in the straight position on her face, but I could tell that she was making an effort to smile.
    “Come here,” I said, drawing her body close to mine again.
    I squeezed her tightly and took in the smell of her hair. It always smelled like some kind of garden or fruit or something. Whatever it was, it always made me smile.
    “And to the moon and back?” she asked.
    I smiled wider.
    “And to the moon and back,” I confirmed, gently kissing the top of her head.
    We held each other for a moment then without saying a word. It was her whisper that finally broke the silence.
    “Gone With the Wind ,” she softly said into my ear.
    I slowly pulled away from her and met her eyes.
    “The movie I wanted to see was Gone With the Wind ,” she said.
    Her voice was still soft.
    I tried to hold back a suspicious grin. I knew that wasn’t the one. The one she had mentioned before was at least a couple of hours shorter.
    “Are you sure?” I asked her.
    She nodded her head. There was a new, mischievous smile planted on her face.
    “That was the one,” she said, with more conviction this time.
    One of my eyes narrowed slightly, but I didn’t say anything. I knew enough to know when to keep my mouth shut.
    “Okay,” I said, as I felt the corners of my mouth slowly start to turn up again.
    “And we’re