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Click hereI stroked her hair and she tilted her head to look up at me. That light in her eyes takes my breath away.
"Don't move", I whispered softly to her.
I reached back and fumbled for my mobile on the lamp table beside the sofa. I found it, activated the camera and framed her face quickly to take a shot. I looked at the frozen image for a long moment, smiling. I'd finally got her. There, reflected in the deep, inky pools at the centre of those lustrous blue irises was a glint. Everything that was Jus when she opened her soul to you with that look of pure love and trust. Her heart, her love, her very being.
"Show me."
I passed over the phone and she examined the image for a few moments.
"Hey, I actually I look OK."
"OK? You're bloody gorgeous Jus!"
I tossed the phone back on the table and gathered her into my arms again. I nuzzled her neck and then whispered into her ear.
"I love you so much, Justine."
She turned her head to look at me. Those wonderful eyes found mine again.
"I know, babe. I love you too. I'm yours forever."
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EPILOGUE: JUSTINE
So here we were. Two lovers, heads together in that precious moment which someone years ago likened to breathing forth our love for each other, letting our souls blend in a soft whisper. Salt and vinegar? I wasn't so sure any more. We're still very different but we've got a little bit more of each other in us now. More yin and yang perhaps; two halves of a whole. No longer separate elements thrust together in a savage, chaotic fusion, but a more balanced, calmer, twin-soul being.
I was idly musing on this to Lena later that night as I stripped the covers from the couch for their next trip to the dry cleaners. She was framing her picture of me. It was destined for the wall montage and she'd spent a good part of the afternoon rearranging the entire collection around it. She'd finally got it to her satisfaction and I had to admit I liked the idea of me on display, centred there amongst Lena's treasured work. It gave me a warm, gooey feeling.
"What the fuck are you rambling on about Jus?" she asked distractedly as she reassembled the backing and frame.
"I'm 'rambling', you insensitive girl, about us. How we've each changed and become a little bit less different and more, sort of, blended. You know, like oil and water emulsified in salad dressing."
"You talk the weirdest shit sometimes, Jus, you know that right? Wait, I've got it."
She looked over at me with a raised eyebrow and a dirty smirk.
"Not salad dressing – 'sauce'!"
We both roared with laughter. I dropped the cushion covers and walked toward her with open arms.
"So are you done with that frame yet? Come to bed you saucy bitch."
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FIN
A note for those interested in literary details. The word 'aeternum' in Justine's tattoo is Latin for 'forever'. In the first paragraph of this last section, Justine is paraphrasing (somewhat out of context) part of a quotation from 19th century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.
Finally, I hope you enjoyed theSalt & Vinegar series as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks to everyone who read, scored and provided feedback, encouraging me to expand Lena and Justine's adventures beyond the initial story.
Jett
Jett from the present, I enjoyed this. Had a few questions, what happened to Beth and Stacy?
Dear me-from-the-past,
I was recently reading a serialised manga celebrating its 10th anniversary and it struck me that it’s now over 10 years since I wrote the Salt & Vinegar series.
So I reread it.
Not too shabby, if I do say so.
It was a different time and a different me and the world is a different place but it was interesting to reflect on what inspired the stories and how much I enjoyed developing the characters and writing about them. Lena and Justine felt like family. I wonder if all authors feel this about their creations.
To anyone reading this now, I hope you also enjoy it - not just for the naughty bits (yeah, I know, this is Lit!) - but for the characters themselves and their journey and for any perspective it may help you with in your life and relationships.
It certainly helped me with mine at the time and I can now see with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight some of my subconscious thoughts and feelings which found their way into the story.
So, please read and enjoy.
Leave a comment if you wish, although I don’t really visit Lit anymore. I didn’t even recognise the interface when I logged in for the first time in years!
Thanks to everyone who has read Lena and Justine’s story in the past. And thank you to any future reader who gets to end of the series and remains interested enough to read this slightly self-indulgent comment!
Stay well and stay safe in these increasingly uncertain times.
Best wishes,
Jett-from-the-present. ❤️
Thank you, it was a privilege to read, and I have bookmarked it for savoring further.
Enjoyed the story, references, and characters. Great work. Thank you.
Never have I been so touched by a story I don't know how else to describe this story other than spectacular
An exceptional story from an exceptional storyteller. Really fine work. Two memorable characters finely drawn. More!
Thanks everyone for your kind comments so far.
If you wish to comment anonymously, feel free to also PM or email me.
I try to respond to everyone who gives me feedback and I can't properly thank you if I don't know who you are.
Regards,
Jett