Through the Years

Dorothy Ann Blake and Carlos Ramon had lived next door to each other their whole lives. There had never been two such different people. There had never been two such good friends.

When they were eight years old, Dorothy Ann's parents had to take a trip out of town. Mr. and Mrs. Ramon had been kind enough to take care of Dorothy Anny and Evan until they returned. Carlos couldn't have been happier with this arrangement. He even offered to share his own bedroom with Dorothy Ann so she wouldn't have to put up with her sister.

That night when Carlos came into his room after putting on his blue pajamas, Dorothy Ann was already in her nightgown. She was sitting up in her sleeping bag. Reading, as always.

"DA, it's almost time for bed. How can you be reading now?" Carlos asked.

"I always read before bed. It relaxes me."

"I don't see how."

Before Carlos could argue any further, his mom came in to tuck them in. After she left and turned off the lights, the two children laid awake whispering and giggling. Just for a while until at last they both fell asleep.

BOOM!

Dorothy Ann sat bolt upright in her sleeping bag. The rain pounded down on the house and she could see flashes of lighting outside the window. She looked over at Carlos and saw him sleeping like a log. Dorothy Ann hesitated. No one knew she was afraid of storms, how would she explain herself to him if she did wake him?

The thunder roared again and Dorothy Anny yelped, jumping half out of her skin. All hesitation aside, she crawled over to Carlos' bed.

"Carlos," she whispered in his ear, poking him just slightly. Nothing. "Carlos!" She grabbed his arm and shook him.

"Huh?" He muttered opening his eyes, "What's going on?"

"Thunder storm…" she told him timidly.

"Thunder storm! That's awesome!" Carlos was suddenly wide awake and bounded over to the window, "I love thunder storms! Don't you, DA?"

"Not- Not particularly…" She mumbled to her feet, sorry she had woken him. Especially when the next booms of thunder sent her back hiding in her sleeping bag.

"Are you scared of thunder storms, DA?" Carlos asked, turning on the lamp next to his bed and kneeling down next to her.

Dorothy Ann poked her head out, "Scared? I'm not scared of anything!"

Carlos pulled the sleeping bag back so he could see her face.

"I can't believe Dorothy Ann Blake is afraid of thunder storms."

"Carlos, you can't tell anyone!"

"Of course, now come on," Carlos took her hand and pulled her out of her sleeping bag and guided her over to his bed, "Come on, you can sleep in my bed with me."

DA nodded and crawled under the blankets next to him and he shut off the lamp. Every time she heard the thunder, DA would bury her face in his shoulder. At long last, she fell asleep in her best friends hug.

Dorothy Ann awoke with her face pressed against his warm, muscular chest. His strong arms were wrapped securely around her. Their legs were tangled together. Carlos' parents had taken Mikey to a computer convention out of town for the weekend and Dorothy Ann's parents thought she was at Phoebe's for the weekend.

She kissed his chest lightly and felt him inhale slightly to the light touch.

"So you are awake," she said into his chest.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Carlos murmured, smiling but keeping his eyes shut, "I'm fast asleep with the most beautiful woman in the world in my arms."

"Carlos…" Dorothy Anny whined as he pulled her tighter to him.

"Dorothy Ann…" He mocked.

"You're smothering me…"

Carlos loosened his grip enough so Dorothy Ann could look up at him.

"Carlos!" Called a voice from downstairs, and they both jumped, "We're home!"

"Oh crap!" Carlos muttered and they both leapt out of bed. Carlos was wearing nothing but boxers and DA wasn't much better in a bra and booty shorts. There were footsteps on the stairs.

"What are we going to do?" she hissed.

"Grab your clothes and get under the bed!" Carlos ordered, diving back into his bed himself.

DA grabbed the clothes she'd shed last night and rolled under the bed and he dropped the comforter in front of her. Carlos buried his face in the pillow just as his mother walked in.

"Carlos! We're home!"

Carlos leapt up to cover himself, "Mom! Learn to knock!"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm sorry, dear. Why are you still in bed? It's almost noon!"

"Because for once I didn't have you here to wake me up at the butt crack of dawn!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but you really should get up," with that, she shut the door. Neither of them dared move until they heard her go back down the stairs.

Dorothy Ann poked her head out from under the bed, "Now what?"

"We'll both get dressed, I'll go see if the coast is clear and we'll sneak you out."

Dorothy Ann nodded and came out and got dressed. Once they were both decent, Carlos crept down to the stairs. No one was upstairs. He looked down and saw the light from Mikey's room on. He listened and heard all three voices on the inside. Perfect.

"Come on!" He whisper-yelled and Dorothy Ann came down to meet him and together they crept down the stairs. They were next to the front door when a voice stopped them.

"Oh, Dorothy Ann! Carlos didn't' tell us you were coming! We must not have heard you come in!"

Awkwardly they turned around to face his mother.

"Yep, he must have…" She agreed nervously.

"Well, I was about to start lunch, will you be joining us?"

"Of course she will," Carlos answered for her.

His mother smiled and left the room. Carlos wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and whispered into her hair, "Clueless."

Dorothy Ann was stressed. She would be graduating college in a month. Exams were fast approaching. She couldn't study enough.

"Come on, DA," Carlos whined, following her to the library, "I've worked so hard to plan this evening and you're telling me you can't take one night off?"

"But Carlos…" She began to protest.

"No!" He cut her off, "Go ahead and study for an hour, but after that I expect you to go back to your apartment and get ready for our date."

She huffed, "Fine."

"Great!" Carlos enthused, "Trust me; you'll be glad you went on this date. I love you!"

"I love you too, Carlos," Dorothy Ann smiled as he turned and left her at the library door.

An hour passed and Dorothy Ann packed up and left the library to go back to her apartment, true to her word. She walked in the front door of the building and was shocked to see a rose sitting on each step leading up to the landing. What was going on? She walked up the first flight of steps and turned to see they led up to the next landing too. She continued to follow the roses and saw they led all the way up to the door of her fifth floor apartment. Behind the door, she found Carlos, looking very handsome in a suit with a red shirt underneath, holding even more roses. And something else.

"Carlos," Dorothy Ann was still in shock, "What- What is all this?"

Carlos stepped over and handed her the roses he was holding. Then he got down on one knew and Dorothy Ann gasped, "DA…Dorothy Ann, I have known you for as long as I can remember. You're my best friend. My childhood crush. My girlfriend. My soul-mate. I can't imagine life without you. I would be honored to have a wife as wonderful as you. Will you marry me?"

He held out the tiny velvet box and opened it revealing the most beautiful diamond ring. Tears were running down Dorothy Ann's face and a large smile stretched across her face, "Yes! Yes, of course I'll marry you!"

He slid the ring on to her finger. Dorothy Ann couldn't wait for Carlos to get back up. She dove on top of him, pinning him to the ground with her kisses. She pulled back to look into those wonderful dark brown eyes.

"I love you so much, Carlos Ramon."

"I love you too, Dorothy Ann Blake."

"Mommy's home!" A little girl's voice called through the house.

A four year old girl with blonde pigtails and dark brown eyes ran to her mother at the front door. Toddling behind her came a two year old boy, already sporting a mop of dark hair that fell in front of his dark brown eyes. Dorothy Ann Ramon knelt down and hugged her children.

"Claire, David, were you two good for Daddy?" She asked them and they nodded.

She was now a science professor at the local college. Carlos worked out of the home, mostly as an inventor, but for the time being he was playing Mr. Mom. However, he loved his kids and wouldn't have it any other way. On top of that, he still got to invent, which he loved more than anything, aside from his wife and children of course.

Dorothy Ann walked into the kitchen and saw her husband holding their baby girl in his arms. Little Sophie was barely three months old.

"How were the kids?" She asked sitting in the chair next to him.

"They were really good today. Claire kept wanting to help with Sophie; it was really cute and sweet. Davey played with his toy trucks a lot."

"That's good," She smiled, "Wish I was here, I miss being home with the family every day."

"I know, DA," he sympathized, "but one of us needs to work, and with the inventing world being the way it is you're a much better choice."

"I suppose you're right, I just wish I got to spend more time with my babies."

Carlos smiled, "Look at it this way. You were never that good of a cook. This way, all of our meals are home cooked but still edible."

"Carlos!" Dorothy Ann scolded.

He smiled at his wife even more, "Here, take the baby, I'll get dinner on the table."

The family ate dinner together happily. After everything was clean they let Claire and David choose a cartoon for the family to watch together. At last, it was time for the kids to go to bed. It took a while, but at last they were all asleep and Carlos and Dorothy Ann were getting ready for bed themselves.

Carlos walked into the bedroom and saw DA sitting cross legged in her pajamas on the bed. Reading as always.

"You know, I still don't understand how you find reading so relaxing. Especially before bed."

"Well, husband of mine, I don't know how to explain it."

"That's alright," he smiled at her from the doorway, "you're cute when you read."

"I'm a too old and too much of a mom to be cute, don't you think?" Dorothy Ann asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not," he walked over and laid next to her on the bed, "In fact, you get cuter and more beautiful every day."

Dorothy Ann giggled, closed her book, and cuddled up next to her husband. For a while, they just lay in bed silently cuddling. Until the predicted thunderstorm for that night rolled in. Dorothy Ann tightened her arms around him and pressed her face into his chest.

"What I really can't believe is that you're still scared of thunder."

Dorothy Ann playfully slapped his chest, "Just hold me."

"Forever and ever."