The American Princess - Best Love Story Ever (24 page)

"You keep making me do this Fartlek stuff,
and I'll do something you won't like!"

He laughed. "Like what?"

She took off across the golf course, running
as fast as she could. "Like run!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Stop now, and nothing bad will happen to
you," he hollered after her.

That's what you always say, just before
something bad does happen to me!

Soon she heard him gaining on her. Why am I
trying to outrun him? He probably gave me a head start just to make
the chase more sporting. He always catches me. And that is exactly
what happened as she scampered across the fourth green. He hauled
her down and rolled her onto her back.

"I'll bet until now you thought that the
Cheetah was the world's fastest animal."

Having expended so much energy trying to
outrun him, she was too exhausted to prevent him from taking what
he wanted....

Later he exclaimed, "My first ever
hole-in-one!"

"Animal!" This is just wonderful, she
thought. The world's fastest animal gets a hole-in-one, and I get a
grass stained butt. And tomorrow I'll be back doing Fartlek as
usual. Must admit though, the hole-in-one part was fun. "I really
am good for you, Mr. World's Fastest Animal. You don't golf, so
without me, a hole-in-one would never have been more than a fantasy
for you."

He held and caressed her. "It's even better
than that," he said, "because without you, my life would be a black
hole, with no one."

After a few months of Fartlek conditioning,
she was amazed at how much stronger she felt on the courts, and how
invigorated she was, following even the most grueling match. The
secret to Fartlek, she realized, lay in having a lover to share in
her workout. And it was wonderful, that after a strenuous workout,
he wanted her. They would lie on a blanket and cuddle, hands
meandering and mouths tasting, as the warm evening breezes—filled
with the fragrant perfume of magnolia and azalea blossoms—wafted
over them.

"What you do to me out here is decadent," she
told him. "When you do me, under the stars like this, I feel as if
you're sharing me with the cosmos."

"I don't know about the cosmos," he said,
"but the heavens are definitely involved, and I wish they'd leave
us alone. I want you all to myself."

One evening, as Betty-Jo and Brad lay
nuzzling beneath the stars in a touchy-feely embrace; he pointed to
a bright star above the western horizon.

"Do you know what star that is?"

"No. Should I?"

"It's the planet Venus, named after my
goddess friend."

"Is that where Venus lives?"

"I wouldn't bet on it. Venus is rather
inhospitable, like the goddess herself when her hair's having a bad
day."

"So Brad, if you're such a close friend of
Venus, where does she live?"

"I'm not sure. But I know how to get
there."

"How?"

"'Fly toward the second star to the right,
then proceed straight on until morning.'"

She laughed at him. "Venus lives in
Never-Never Land?"

"That can't be right."

"So how do you know that Venus is your
pal?"

"I was told by someone."

She placed her hand on Brad's forehead. "You
don't feel hot. So why are you delirious?" His laugh was uneasy.
"Let me guess," she continued. "You're talking to ghosts."

"More like gods. The guy claims to be
Mercury. You know, the Greek messenger god."

"Weird."

"Tell me about it. Seems Venus sent him. He
says it's thanks to Venus, that you and I met. As best, I can tell,
Venus felt guilty about the misery she'd caused Psyche. So to make
amends, she brought us together.

"I don't understand. Who is Psyche, and what
did Venus do to her?"

"What Venus did to Psyche wasn't pretty."

"Tell me."

"What would you rather do, make love, or hear
about Venus and Psyche?" He kissed her eyelids.

"Both."

"You're a greedy cat. You want
everything—don't you?

"Yes," said the greedy cat.

"Okay, but I suspect that Venus would be
miffed if she knew I was gossiping about her. If we're struck by a
lightning bolt, you'll know why."

"Go ahead and gossip. Your Tawny Cat's
feeling reckless, and she isn't afraid of some wicked, make-believe
goddess." Although maybe she should be, she thought.

Brad rolled onto his side and stared into her
eyes. "Forgive her, Venus, for she knows not what she says. Tawny
cat, please! Be careful. Psyche did less than you did just now to
incur Venus' wrath."

"What did she do?"

"Like you, Psyche was beautiful—the most
beautiful of the Roman women—and also like you, she was a
princess."

"A real princess?"

"A real princess. Psyche had everything she
could wish for. She even ate from a silver plate and drank from a
golden cup. And like you, she slept on satin sheets, only hers were
red. But Psyche had a problem. She was unhappy."

A breeze started to perk up Betty-Jo's polka
dots. "How unfortunate," she said with mock sincerity. "It's so
difficult to be happy when you have to sleep on satin sheets."

Brad assisted the breeze with his fingertips.
"You, of all people, should understand. Incredible beauty can often
be as much a curse as it is a blessing, and it was a curse for
Psyche. Her sisters were jealous, boys were afraid of her, and men
stared at her."

"You're right, beauty can be a curse. It's
too easy to fall in love with an outer shell instead of the person
within. Even you might love me for just my body."

"At last I understand! I love you for a body
that never quits, and you love me for a brain that won't start."
Betty-Jo swatted him, and he grinned at her. "For sure I love you
with your clothes off, and that soul of yours is a bit of a
rascal."

"My soul was docile until it met you."

"Maybe I should speak to Venus. Ask her to
turn you into a mouse burger. Then, when I keep hanging around,
you'll be certain that it's the inner cat that I love best."

She caressed his chest and kissed him. "You
don't have to chat with Venus. I know it's the inner cat that you
love best. That's what makes me feel beautiful."

"But unlike me with you," Brad said, "many
people began to worship Psyche because of her beauty, and they
stopped going to Venus' temple to worship Venus."

"Why would they worship Venus when they had a
gorgeous flesh and blood princess of their own to worship?"

"Exactly. But as you can imagine, that
incensed Venus—she was, after all, the goddess of love and beauty.
Venus decided to make Psyche pay for her beauty."

"That can't be good."

"She send her son, Cupid, to earth, to
administer her retribution. Perhaps you recall that by shooting
gods or mortals with one of his gold-tipped arrows, Cupid could
make them fall in love with the first person they saw. And Cupid
was given magic water to sprinkle on Psyche's eyes so, after being
pierced by his arrow, the first person she would see, and fall
madly in love with, would be the meanest, ugliest man on
earth."

Isn't Venus delightful, Betty-Jo thought. "I
didn't realize that Cupid was Venus' son."

"As I understand it, he was the result of a
tryst with Mercury. Anyway, dutiful son that Cupid was, he set off
to do his mother's dirty work. When Cupid arrived on earth, he
found Psyche slumbering on her satin sheets. He took a gold-tipped
arrow from his quiver, pulled open her nightgown, and touched it to
her breast."

"Her breast? The guy's a pervert."

"Then he moved the arm that covered Psyche's
face, so he could sprinkle her eyes with the magic water. But when
he moved her arm, he was confronted by such beauty, that he forgot
to apply the magic water. Instead, the clumsy carp scratched
himself with his own arrow, and then fell madly in love with his
mother's mortal enemy."

"That is so romantic." She leaned over and
blew in Brad's ear. "Was Psyche also in love with Cupid?"

"Of course. She'd been pierced by Cupid's
arrow, and since the magic water hadn't been sprinkled on her eyes,
she fell in love with the first person she saw when she awoke."

Betty-Jo beamed. "Cupid!"

"Right. Psyche thought that the gorgeous man
with the curly brown hair, the captivating smile, and the sky-blue
eyes was a dream man. She stared into his eyes, enthralled. In
Cupid's eyes she could see the earth in all its glory, and the
heavens in all their wonder."

"Hold me," Betty-Jo demanded. He took her in
his arms. "Tighter," she said.

"Then Cupid spoke to Psyche."

"And said?"

"He said, 'Wait for me. I'll send for you.'
And as he faded away, he said it again, 'Wait for me.'"

"So did Psyche wait for him?"

"Would you have waited?"

"
You
Brad,
are my dream man. I would wait for you forever."

"Forever?"

"If forever was how long it took. I belong to
you—you know that!" She squeezed his hand, feeling his strength;
she touched his cheek, soaring on his love; then she imprisoned his
eyes, and flirted with his soul.

"Just as you belong to me, apparently so
Psyche belonged to Cupid, because she waited for him to come for
her. She didn't know who she was waiting for, but she knew that she
was in love with the gorgeous man from her dream."

"She's like me, one of those pathetically,
hopelessly in love, kind of women."

"You're a wisely, wonderfully, in love kind
of woman. But Psyche? Perhaps not. It turned out to be a long wait.
Psyche was forty-five when..."

"Forty-five!"

"Sometimes love exacts a stiff, even a
fearful price. But Psyche was more beautiful than ever when, one
evening, she was drawn to a hilltop where a friendly wind named
Zephyr picked her up, lulled her to sleep, and carried her away.
When she awoke, she found herself in a radiant palace made of gold
and jewels."

"I bet Cupid built it for her."

"You're right. That was why Psyche had to
wait for so long. Cupid wanted to build her a home that was worthy
of her."

"I'm beginning to like Cupid."

"Someday, I'll build you a home just like
Psyches'."

"You want to build me a palace?"

"I've already started to save, and like
Psyche's palace, yours will also be made of gold and jewels." He
reached into his tote bag, pulled out a small package, and handed
it to her. Inside, was a gold necklace, attached to a gold wafer,
which had 'T-Cat' inscribed on it. The card read, 'The first of
many bricks for my princess' palace.'

Brad put the necklace around Betty-Jo's neck,
and studied her. "It looks lovely," he said. "It accentuates the
gold in your hair, but it doesn't do you justice. Maybe nothing can
really enhance your beauty."

She could feel the tears filling her eyes as
she leapt on her lover. "Darn you, Bad Brad, I want you in me now!"
She rubbed herself against him.

He kissed her—long, tender, loving
kisses—then he carried on with his story. "That evening, Psyche's
life became almost perfect. She had everything she'd ever dreamed
of when Cupid came to her in the dark; his soft voice wafted around
her, and his strong arms enveloped and held her. 'Thank you for
waiting for me, Psyche', he said. She knew that it was the voice of
her dream man."

"You're my dream man," Betty-Jo said.

"After Psyche watched the most beautiful
sunset she'd ever seen, she married her dream man. But Cupid
refused to tell her his name, and he forbid her to look at
him."

"You're kidding! Why?"

"Cupid had a reason. He didn't want Psyche to
see him, or to know his name, because he wanted her to love him as
his equal. If Psyche had known he was a god, she would have treated
him like a god. Cupid didn't want that."

"What a mess. I'd go crazy if I couldn't look
at you."

"And that's what happened to Psyche. She
longed to behold her dream man once again, and to know his name. So
one night, as her husband slept, she lit a candle, and gazed on
him, unaware of the fearful consequences of her actions."

"You didn't tell me that this was going to be
a horror story."

Brad kissed her and continued. "Psyche's
husband had the same brown curls, sky-blue eyes, and handsome face
as her dream man. And above him, hanging on the wall, were
gold-tipped arrows and a bow. Psyche knew immediately that her
husband was Cupid, the god of love. Unfortunately, as she bent to
take a closer look at him, a drop of hot wax fell on his arm."

"Oh, no!"

"Cupid opened his eyes, and saw Psyche. He
jumped out of bed, and backed away from her."

"This is bad—Brad!"

"'Wait! Wait'! Psyche cried. She was frantic.
Cupid stopped, and turned. 'Goodbye forever, Psyche', he said, in a
hard, cold voice that at the same time was filled with despair. 'I
disobeyed my mother, I left her house, and I took you for my wife.
Now this is how you have chosen to reciprocate my love. Love and
suspicion cannot dwell in the same house—there must be trust'. Of
course since Cupid was the god of love, he was duty bound to leave
her."

B-J gripped Brad's arm. "What did Psyche
do?"

"Psyche was desperate. She ran after Cupid,
but he disappeared into the morning air. Psyche, in pain and
despair, fell to the ground and sobbed. When she finally raised her
head, she found herself back on the hilltop near her palace on
earth—Zephyr had returned her."

"No, Brad. Please! I want a happy ending."
She implored him with her eyes."

"But how can there be a happy ending without
love, and how can there be love without trust?"

"I know that love is doomed without trust,
but I still want Psyche and Cupid to live happily ever after."