Chapter Text
Rita was still on a high. At last she’d seen her favourite band, Kiss, live. They were even more spectacular than she’d thought they would be. It was funny to see them all in makeup, because the album that first got her interest was Revenge. She discovered it long after it was released in 1992. The band members all looking young and sexy. Particularly the drummer they’d hired just before its recording, Eric Singer. He looked like an angel on that cover, all that long blonde hair reaching down almost to his waist. He stood out for that alone, in contrast to the dark brooding of the other three guys. So small and sweet, pouting at her from the photo on the back.
She wondered what he’d look like all dressed up as the Catman. It had been decades since Revenge, and she couldn’t even imagine his appearance without the makeup.
The band didn’t disappoint and she’d fallen hard for the cheeky little drummer. He was acting playful for the camera during his solo, bouncing around excitedly behind the kit, and even got to sing a couple of songs. She was mesmerised by his performance up front for Beth. She’d wished she could have afforded a better seat closer to the stage.
She was daydreaming about the whole night as she wandered the streets of Oslo the next morning. She thought her eyes were deceiving her when she noticed across the road, a limo pulled up and out the door came Eric Singer and Paul Stanley.
Am I dreaming? she wondered.
Rita wasted no time in jaywalking across the road, barely missing a car driving past, hoping to catch them before they disappeared.
“Look out, Paul”, Eric said as he watched a young lady scooting through traffic, “you’ve got a fan incoming!”
He was used to being bypassed when Paul’s fans spotted him. He kind of liked it. He wasn’t quite as recognisable as the two originals and was usually left to go about his business unnoticed. It never occurred to him that someone might be interested in meeting him. He was just about to head into a shop when he heard “Eric! Eric!”
Was it someone he knew?
Paul let out a giggle when he saw Eric’s shocked expression.
“This one is all yours, Eric!”
And Paul was a little jealous, because she was stunning. Large green almond shaped eyes and full mouth framed by beautiful blonde hair.
At first Rita was worried she’d made a mistake. Eric looked a lot different from the Revenge cover. What was once angelic blonde hair was now shorter and darker, and when she called out his name he looked shocked. It wasn’t until she heard Paul say something to him and address him by his name she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Eric, I’m such a big fan of yours!”
Her command of the English language was impeccable and sounded even sexier with her accent.
Eric looked stunned, and stammered, “Oh, really?”
It made her and Paul both giggle.
“Are you sightseeing? I can show you around”, she offered.
Eric was looking a little uncomfortable under her attention and she worried that he was a bit wary of her.
“I was just going in here”, he pointed at the door of a shop selling luxury timepieces, “I thought I might check out some watches.”
Rita felt a little deflated, and slightly embarrassed. It sounded like he wanted to get away from her. She worried she was making a scene.
“Oh…ok, sorry for disturbing you…” she mumbled, her gaze lowered.
“Hey..um”, Eric hesitated, “uh, I don’t know if you’d like…do you wanna come in and look with me?”
Rita could hardly believe her ears.
Is he talking to me?
She looked up and Eric smiled at her.
“I’d love to!” she replied excitedly.
Paul opened the door for both of them, warning “We better get in before anyone else spots us”.
“I’m Rita”, she told him.
“Hi, I’m Eric”, he replied.
She giggled at him. Did he really think she didn’t know his name? She’d just uttered it several times!
Rita sat in rapture as Eric schooled Paul on the ins and outs of watches. She’d heard he was a watch collector, but the depth of knowledge he displayed was beyond her imagination. Sometimes she felt a bit silly sitting beside him, wondering if he’d forgotten she was there. But then he’d turn briefly to smile at her, as if he’d read her thoughts, before turning back to Paul and make more recommendations.
Paul was trying on various time pieces and Eric turned his attention back to her.
He pointed to the top of the display case in front of them and said “Look at the beautiful ladies watches they have here.”
He lectured her on the history of the brands saying which he thought was the most useful, the best value for money. But Rita looked at the price tags and they were way beyond her budget. He barely drew breath as he enthusiastically ran through features for a good 15 minutes before suddenly stopping.
“This one would really suit you”, he said while pointing at a beautiful rose gold piece, “you should get that one.”
She squirmed in her seat, embarrassed that she could never afford even the least expensive watches in this establishment.
“I couldn’t possibly pay for any of these”, she offered sadly, but he was undeterred.
He called over the assistant and asked him to let her try one on.
Eric gently placed it around her dainty wrist, the feeling of his fingers touching her skin made her heart flutter.
“This watch belongs to you”, he whispered softly.
“Eric, it’s too --”
“Put this one on my bill as well”, he advised the assistant, who then left with the watch to package it all up for her.
“Eric, I can’t let you buy this”, she murmured, almost embarrassed by this gesture, “it costs thousands of krone”.
He’d never laid eyes on her before and within twenty minutes he’d bought this extravagant gift.
“You’re beautiful, you deserve beautiful things”, he assured her.
“Don’t worry, Eric can afford it”, Paul joked.
“I have to pay you back somehow, Eric. I can show you some of the beautiful places in Oslo”, she offered.
She felt awkward when Eric didn’t respond, his face a blank expression. Paul stepped in.
“Eric wants to see all your beautiful places.”
Eric smiled at her.
“Yes I do!” he agreed.
They left the shop, each with a new purchase, Eric with several.
Once again Paul spoke up for him, “We have to get back to the venue to pick up a few things. Maybe after that, you’d like to go sightseeing, Eric?”
“Yes”, he obediently answered, “come to the hotel later - about five thirty, Paul?”
“Sounds perfect. Nice to meet you, Rita!”
“Nice to meet you”, Eric echoed before he was shuffled back into the limo.
The driver came up to her and handed her a card from the hotel, so she knew where to go, but she didn’t respond. She was too stunned.
The limo took off and she stood there on the sidewalk, dumbstruck by what had just happened. She went for a walk and now had a brand new designer watch and a date with Eric Singer.
———
There was a knock on Eric’s hotel room door, he opened it nervously and saw Paul’s smiling face.
“Making yourself all pretty for your date?”
Eric huffed and gestured for him to enter.
“Did she really want me?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
“A lot more than she wanted me, obviously”, Paul laughed in response.
“I’m not used to this, Paul.”
He was pacing up and down the room.
“I’m used to fading into the background while they all chase you and Gene. Tommy as well. You get all the girls and I get the middle aged men and kids.”
“You can do this Eric. Look.”
Paul turned him towards the full length mirror.
He’d dressed himself in jeans and a leather jacket. It covered a dress shirt that he’d only buttoned up halfway, to show off the necklaces he loved to wear. Finally he put a bag around his shoulder, he carried one everywhere he went.
“Who wouldn’t want this? If you’re not careful I might take you back to my room.”
Eric laughed.
“Get out of here, Stan!”
Paul always liked to make fun of all the gay rumours surrounding him, and Eric liked to tease him by calling him by his real first name. A name he purposely moved to surname status because he despised it so much. Only this little menace got away with it.
He exited the elevator and she was waiting in the lobby. Eric’s breath was taken away. Rita was dressed in a figure hugging black dress and strappy sandals, her hair slicked back into a neat ponytail, and most importantly, a rose gold watch on her wrist, she looked like a supermodel.
“I have somewhere fun to take you”, she smiled and took his hand.
Eric would have walked to the end of the earth hand in hand with her. He was completely smitten.
They jumped into a cab and the only clue to their destination was her telling the driver, “Frognerparken, vennligst”.
He held her hand again and smiled at her, believing that her face was a more beautiful sight than anything out the window. She was too coy to look in his face, so she just looked down at their intertwined fingers, not believing that it was actually Eric Singer’s hand she was holding.
“I want to show you something first, because you’re American”, she announced as they alighted the cab.
Eric couldn’t even guess what in this beautiful landscape could relate to his country.
“This is the romantic part of the park”, she said as she led him through.
He was quite excited that she would want to take him somewhere considered romantic.
They reached a monument with a bust of Abraham Lincoln.
“See?”
Eric laughed.
“It’s so strange seeing something so American so far away from home”, he pointed to the plaque, “Look! It’s part of the Gettysburg address”.
Rita didn’t know much at all about the American Civil War, but Eric did, and he shared it all with her. One thing she’d already discovered was how his face lit up when he spoke about things he was knowledgeable of. Whether she understood it all or not, she could appreciate how much he enjoyed telling stories.
“Now you’ve seen something of America, I can show you something of Norway”, she insisted.
She led him over a bridge to a place scattered with sculptures.
“Is this Vigelandsparken?” he asked, his face lighting up in a bright smile, “I’ve heard of this place before”.
Rita giggled a little, “Only tourists call it that. The name is not accurate.”
“Oh, really?” Eric was surprised, “Well that’s great! You’ve taught me something new already.”
They walked hand in hand around the Vigelands Instillation.
“So what do you call this place?” He asked with genuine curiosity.
“I can teach you some Norwegian”, Rita replied, “it’s called Vigelandsanlegget”.
“Vigelandsanlegget”, Eric repeated, “I try to learn a little bit of the language of countries I’ve toured in”.
“And how do you go at that?”
“Not very good”, he had to admit, “so I’m lucky that you speak such good English”.
He took in the landscape.
“It’s all fascinating and beautiful, but also a little bit weird”, he said
Just like you, Eric, Rita thought immediately, but she wasn’t game enough to say it.
They walked up the steps towards the monolith. And he stood and stared at it for a while.
“He really likes people to look all smooshed together, doesn’t he?”
They walked on until they saw a statue of a toddler.
“Oh look! It’s Gene when he doesn’t get his way”, he joked.
She giggled at him.
“It’s Angry Boy! I don’t think he’d like that comparison”, she laughed as she pointed to the tiny penis, “Is that why he wears the codpiece?”
“Well, he’s the one who gets the most chicks, so there must be something substantial under there.”
“And what about you? Surely there are many women who want you too?”
He sniggered at the thought.
“I don’t have much of a reputation with the female Kiss fans. The ones who are most interested in me are kids and their dads.”
“Is that why you decided to come out with me? Because I’m the only woman who has asked?”
“I came out with you because from the moment I saw you crossing the street I was mesmerised by your beauty.”
He sucked up a sharp breath and gently tugged her hand to bring her closer to him. He looked in her face, trying to read if she’d welcome a kiss from him. But she beat him to it, brushing her lips against his and he responded immediately. Of all the romantic places this park had to offer, she found it funny that their first kiss was below a naked boy throwing a tantrum.
Eric’s heart was beating fast and when they finally came up for air, he was feeling bolder.
“Would you like to spend the night with me?” he murmured.
“I would love to”, she responded.
It put the biggest smile on Eric’s face and Rita felt like she was floating.
“I lose track of the hours here with all this daylight”, Eric remarked as they stumbled out of the cab. He checked the time on his new wristwatch, “We completely missed dinner. Maybe we could order room service?”
The thought of her and Eric eating in bed turned on much more than she’d like to admit.
———
“Should we get some dessert? Or are you my dessert?”, he asked flirtatiously, then play acted like he was eating her neck. “Nom nom nom!”
The remains of a king crab sat on the tray beside the bed. He wrapped his arm around her as they lay down on the covers.
“We’re leaving tomorrow”, he announced in a melancholy way, “I wish you could come with me”.
He knew he was in danger of her thinking he’s moving too fast, but when you shuffle around from city to city playing concerts and barely having any time to enjoy each place in between, it left him with little choice than to come out and say what he wanted.
“I have my job”, Rita lamented, wondering if her priorities should shift to accommodate him.
“I want to see you again. I don’t know yet how we can make that happen, but if you give me your phone number, maybe it can work somehow?”
He passed her his phone and she tapped it in. He took his phone back, and without her seeing, he dialled her up. Her ringtone began buzzing from her bag. Of course it was a Kiss song, Unholy from Revenge.
“Oh my god Eric, did you think I would give you the wrong number?”
He giggled.
“I just wanted you to know you’ll be hearing it a lot soon. I like the song choice. I played on that album, you know.”
She shook her head in disbelief. Did he really think she didn’t know that? He was blessed with modesty and humility. All those female Kiss fans didn’t know what they were missing out on.
He held his phone up to his ear to pretend he was talking to her.
“Hello! Is this lovely Rita, meter maid?”
She was stunned.
“How did you know I was named after that song?”
“I didn’t!” he spoke, wide eyed, “but I do now.”
“My dad is a huge Beatles fan”, she rolled her eyes.
“Ohhh…so let’s see…you could have been Penny, or Lucy, Eleanore, maybe Madonna!”
She laughed and playfully slapped his chest.
“You could have been named Walrus!” he joked, “No, I am the Walrus”.
“Goo goo g'joob!” she sang, then screamed with laughter.
“You have a beautiful laugh”, he said. Then with a mischievous look on his face, he added, “I wanna hear more of it!”
Suddenly he sprang to life and began tickling her all over. Under her arms, on her belly and ribs, on her neck. She squealed and writhed around on the bed, only encouraging him more. When he seemed to have exhausted himself he flopped down onto his back beside her, giggling.
“You’re so frekk, Eric”
He had no idea what that meant but he loved the way she said it. He leaned the top half of his body across her, she could feel his heartbeat against her chest as he pressed her lightly into the mattress. His erection obvious up against her thigh. He could no longer resist her. Her face so close she was sharing his breath. He smiled gently as he lowered his mouth onto hers. The kiss got heated very quickly, their breathing getting heavy as he moved his whole body on top of her.
Rita’s hands got busy, sliding up inside his shirt to touch his warm skin, making his whole body tingle, then back down inside his waistband to rub and squeeze his ass. He groaned into her mouth and their hips began to grind into each other.
Eric sat up on his knees and quickly removed his shirt, before he thought maybe he was rushing her too much.
“Is this ok?” he asked her.
She laughed and began undressing herself hurriedly.
“Why did you think I put my hands down your pants?”
She unzipped his jeans and released his cock, fully erect and burning for her.
She pulled off her underwear and, without even fully removing his jeans, he entered her.
“Oh god” he moaned as he could feel her wet pussy enveloping him.
Rita’s eyes widened as he rocked inside her, rapidly bringing her to the edge of orgasm.
“I’m gonna come already”, she murmured against his lips passionately.
He pushed himself harder inside her as he was swiftly reaching his own crescendo.
“Me too, baby..I’m gonna come with you..”
She had one hand on his ass, pushing him deeper inside her, and the other hand buried in his hair, closed in a fist. She gave it a tug and that triggered his climax. He closed his eyes and wailed excitedly as he emptied himself inside her.
As his hips pulsated in rhythm, he moved a hand up to caress one of her breasts, eliciting a moan from her. The base of his cock was kneading against her clitoris and the head pounding into her cervix. It wasn’t long until she threw her head back and screamed his name as her orgasm ripped through her whole body.
He laughed gently, collapsing on top of her and burying his face into her neck.
“Sorry if I was too quick”, he whispered in almost an embarrassed tone, “it’s been a while.”
“You have nothing to apologise for, Sir”, she assured him, enjoying the sensation of his cock relaxing inside of her.
They kissed gently, like every ounce of energy inside them had been spent.
“I can’t believe someone as beautiful as you would be interested in me”, he mumbled as he rested his head on her chest. She patted his hair softly.
“Why do you think that way?”
“Because none of the beautiful Kiss fans are ever interested in me. I just figured I must be ugly or something.”
“Eric, you are definitely not ugly!”
“Or that I’m weird and no one wants to deal with that. I’ve always felt weird, like something is wrong with me. I don’t know. There’s obviously something about me that girls don’t want.”
“You really believe that, don’t you.”
“I’m just saying what’s true. Especially in Norway! The only girls I see here are ones that were dragged along by their boyfriend. They don’t even get in photos with us, they take the photo. I go to a lot of events with Tommy. Lots of girls go to those because they love him. We get photos and the girls rub their tits right in his face, and I sit alone like they don’t even want me in the photo. It makes sense. Tommy is so tall and handsome. I’m just some short dude who bombed the photo. It gets hard to keep smiling. Sometimes I can’t even pretend, but they don’t care anyway. They probably just crop me out of the photo.”
“They’re crazy, because you are beautiful.”
“You didn’t say I wasn’t weird”, he pouted playfully.
“I’m still deciding on that one”, she giggled, “I love weird people. Weird people are the most interesting ones. And you are definitely interesting. All the things you spoke about on our walk in the park. Listening to you talk about watches in that store. I could listen to you all day, enjoying the passionate look on your face when you talk about the things you love.” She then kissed the tip of his nose. “Plus you have a very sexy voice.”
He smiled but was quickly distracted by another thought.
“Hey, we can still get dessert if you want! I feel like some ice cream. Do you like ice cream?”
“Very much”
“Do you realise I still have my jeans around my knees?”
He rolled off the bed, pulled his jeans back up, and picked up the phone to order dessert. He was being very quiet about it and Rita wondered what he was up to.
She climbed under the covers of the messed up bed.
“I should probably get dressed”, she muttered half heartedly.
He’d just picked a tshirt up off the floor to put on, but tossed it to Rita instead. She could smell him on it and wrapped her arms around herself when she put it on, almost like she was wrapping her arms around him again.
There was a knock on the door.
“Dessert is here!” he cheered like a kid on Christmas morning.
He opened the door to a man who then wheeled in a trolley with a large silver dome on it.
“I thought you were getting ice cream?”
“This is ice cream, but it’s spectacular ice cream. Have you ever had this? It’s a Bombe Alaska.”
The food service man lifted the dome, and underneath it was something that looked like a snowy mountain. He then sprinkled a liquid that appeared to be alcohol on it, and lit it up with a cooking torch. Flames rose from it and she squealed. Eric laughed at her reaction. The man left the room and Eric wheeled the tray closer to the bed and excitedly jumped back into it.
He sliced into the meringue once the flames had burned out.
“See?” he announced excitedly, “It has cake on the bottom, then a mountain of ice cream, and meringue all over the top!”
He pulled a small plate off the tray and dropped a slice on it. She reached her hand across to take it.
“No, no, I’m feeding this to you.”
She opened her mouth and he placed a spoonful gently on her tongue.
“Oh my god, Eric, this is delicious!”
He was super excited she loved it, and between the spoonfuls he fed himself he told her everything he knew about this dessert.
“You wanna know something really interesting?” he asked as they reached about half way through the confection, “You’ll like this, it was once called a Norwegian omelette! But not because it came from here, but during the Paris World's Fair in 1867, the chef of the Grand Hotel decided to create a scientific dessert by using Benjamin Thompson's discovery of the low thermal conductivity of egg whites. Thompson lived in Bavaria at the time, and coz the chef thought Bavaria was in Norway he named it a Norwegian omelette! Isn’t that interesting?”
With her mouth half full of meringue she mumbled out “How did I never know this?”
They shared cold ice cream kisses between mouthfuls before finally admitting defeat and pushing the trolley away from the bed.
“You have to come on tour with me coz I can’t stop kissing you.”
“I’m so glad all the Norwegian women have ignored you, so I got you all to myself.”
“You’re all sticky” he joked, running his tongue up her cheek.
“Of course I am, I’m in bed with you.”
“Come let me wash you”.
They both got up and took a shower together, still kissing and exploring each other’s bodies. By the time they got out they were exhausted and flopped straight into bed.
“I want to wear your tshirt again”, she whispered.
He placed it over her head and they lay down together. She rubbed his belly until he drifted off to sleep and then her eyes closed soon after.
———
Rita woke the next morning and began dressing in yesterday’s clothes, including the damp panties she’d hurriedly discarded.
He clothed himself in fresh clothes but he did pick up the tshirt they’d both worn, and he put it back on her over her dress.
“You can feel me on your body and remember what I smell like.”
She hugged herself again.
“It’s unlikely that I’ll ever forget.”
“I like that I can imagine you wearing it.”
“That won’t only happen in your imagination”, she assured him.
They shared one last kiss in the lobby of the hotel, then they unwillingly let each other go.
———
Paul saw Eric emerge from the elevator.
“Oh hey, I just knocked on your door.”
“Yeah I was just saying goodbye to Rita. Unfortunately.”
Paul’s face lit up.
“Did she stay the whole night?”
“Maybe…” Eric whispered coyly, blushing slightly, but clearly happy.
“Aren’t you a sly little cat.”
“Come on it’s not a fraction of what you guys get”, he laughed, “and I wanted to make sure Gene never saw her. If he caught her breadcrumbs he’d probably take her away”.
“Eric, that girl only had eyes for you. You gonna see her again?”
“I dunno. I got her number”, he lifted his phone to his face as if to reassure himself that he didn’t imagine it, “I really want to, and I figure that she gave it to me because she wants to see me again too.”
“I’m happy for you Eric. Just try and enjoy it and not worry so much about why, okay?”
He slapped him on the back and Eric went back to his room to process everything that just happened.
———
“Who is this Eric that keeps texting you?”
Rita’s boss, Sara, had grown curious at her phone pinging more often than she could ever remember. So curious she had a quick look over her shoulder, to spy a name.
Rita pulled the phone out of sight playfully.
“Just some guy I met.”
“He must be some guy, because those texts are coming thick and fast.”
Rita smiled at her and turned her attention back to her screen.
How is my Eleanore Rigby today? I’m missing the feel of your body already. Lots of love and kisses from your Walrus.
Her heart melted at the sincerity of his messages.
Woke up all alone again, wishing my Lady Madonna was with me. It’s not too late to change your mind! Thinking of you always, xxx Your Walrus.
She considered changing his name in her contacts to Walrus, keep it all mysterious from Sara and her workmates at the cosmetic store.
Before bed, he would send Rita a goodnight kiss, and she’d always send one back.
I want my Walrus to come back to me. 😘
He would always ask the same question.
Are you still wearing my tshirt? my smell?
She would hug herself again.
Every night in bed, wishing it was you…
Eric had been noticeably quiet on the private plane that took them to each date of their European tour. Rather than getting up to his usual mischief, it was like he wasn’t even there. Gene noticed him sitting by himself with his phone in his hand and a big grin on his face. He quietly gave Paul a jab with his elbow.
“What’s going on over there?” he asked, pointing subtly in Eric’s direction.
Paul wore a cheeky smile as he whispered, “Eric managed to find a girlfriend in Oslo.”
Gene was taken by surprise.
“How is this the first I’m hearing of it?”
“Maybe he didn’t want to risk you stealing her away”, Paul suggested, knowing Eric saw that as a real possibility, “She is really beautiful.”
“Wait, how do you know all of this?”
Paul liked having some information that Gene wasn’t privy to.
“I was with him when they met. It was on our shopping trip to buy watches.”
“I’ve gotta start coming on his watch spending sprees”, Gene replied, shaking his head.
“He bought her a watch about thirty seconds after they met.”
Gene’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “He is a weird little mystery, that one. I guess he wants her to be a keeper.”
Eric would send her photos of the meet and greets.
Look how no one wants photos with the silly old Walrus.
It made her so sad, but also glad.
I don’t want any pretty girls to take my Walrus.
He loved that she said that he was hers.
No one can steal me from you, Penny Lane. ❤️
He would take backstage photos to send to her. He took one with Gene.
Don’t let him take you away from me, Lucy!
She rolled her eyes as she read it and assured him that wouldn’t happen in a million years.
I know he’s your friend but he is so unattractive to me! I only want my Walrus.
Eric laughed and showed Gene.
“We’ll see, she hasn’t met me yet!” he joked.
He sometimes sent her photos of him in his hotel room.
Why do some hotel rooms in Europe look like a circus tent?
Him showing an expressionless face and a four poster bed behind him that had curtains all around it. His funny blank stare, that she at first mistook as disinterest in her, just made her laugh now. He was so different to everyone she’d ever met before. His humour so off the wall. He was both smart and silly, sometimes at the same time.
He’d ceased to be the famous rockstar drummer he was for her before they met. Now he was just her silly Walrus. So giving, wearing his heart on his sleeve. He had burrowed his way into her heart and as far as she was concerned, he was there to stay. She wasn’t game to say it out loud yet, but she had fallen in love with him already.
I wish I was in that bed to distract you, silly old Walrus. 💋
Eric’s heart would be so full every time he read a new message from her.
My lovely Rita, meter maid. I dream every night that you are here with me in bed. You could be the ringmaster of my circus.
The European tour ground to a halt and it was time for Eric to fly home to Vegas. Even though they were apart, there was something about being in the same continent that comforted them both. But now he was going to be a whole ocean away. It felt like a barrier, like a wall had been put up. It only showed Eric how important Rita had become to him.
He had become noticeably melancholy and Paul was concerned something bad had happened.
“You still talking to Rita?”
He nodded silently. It puzzled his bandmate.
“Paul…” he hesitated, “is it possible to fall in love with someone who you are only texting with?”
“Well it’s not like you never met her Eric”, he assured him, “You know who she is, you spent a whole day and night with her. Enjoy what you’re feeling. Don’t worry about defining it right now. Has she said anything?”
“No, and I’m worried if I do, I’ll scare her off. I feel like it’s something I need to say face to face. I don’t know if I’m ever going to see her again, Paul.”
He saw genuine concern in Eric’s face and heard it in his voice. There was no doubt in Paul’s mind that his friend had indeed fallen in love.
“Then invite her over and tell her. If that’s how you truly feel, tell her face to face.”
Eric spent the rest of the trip home in quiet contemplation, checking his phone from time to time.
By the time the plane touched down, Eric was already making plans in his head that would bring them back together, if she really wanted to. He always had some small part in his brain that tried to tell him he’s not worthy of love, that it would never work out for him.
It had been several days since he got home and he was feeling tired. Not because of jet lag, but thoughts of Rita keeping him awake at night. He hadn’t heard from her and was getting worried that if he texts her, she’ll tell him she can’t keep this up long distance. He had to do something bold. He wasn’t ready to tell her he loved her yet, even though he knew that’s how he felt. But he could make plans so he could tell her.
He needed to talk to her. He was up in the middle of the night anyway, so why not call her when it’s daytime for her.
———
“Oh my god, Rita, what is that song?”
Sara was not a big fan of rock bands. She didn’t even recognise Kiss when she heard it.
“It’s Unholy, it’s my ringtone”.
“Unholy is right”, she rolled her eyes and Rita was glad she’d left the room.
Her heart was thumping. The name she’d changed in her contacts was on the screen.
My Walrus.
“Goo goo g'joob” he sang into her ear.
“Eric...I thought I’d never hear from you again”.
A chill went through him.
Does that mean she didn’t want to hear from me again?
“I’ve missed my Walrus so much and I didn’t hear from you.”
He breathed a sigh of relief.
“I wanted to ask you something”, he ventured, “I want my lovely Rita to come visit me here”.
Her eyes widened.
“You want me to come to your home?” she asked, agape, “I would love to!”
Eric wanted to cry with relief and joy.
“Ok, I’m going to organise it as soon as I wake up, I mean tomorrow, well really today because it’s past midnight here, but you know what I mean…I’ll get it organised!”
He was muttering on out of nervous excitement.
“Ok, I better go now, I’m working”, she said dreamily, “and you should be asleep!”
“I know I should be, but I think I’ll be too excited now.”
It took every bit of self control he had to not say I love you as they hung up. But it won’t be long. She’ll be in his arms and he can pour out his heart then.