This is one in a series of loosely linked fantasy short stories taking place in an apartment complex. This specific story blends the modern concept of dating with a timeless plot of the April-December “romance” (and I do mean “romance” in quotes), while allowing the reader to uncover the real plot as the story unfolds.
Avi glanced at himself in the reflection of the window, brushed his hand through his summer-blonde hair, and then knocked on the door of apartment 120. A few seconds passed and as he raised his hand to knock again, the door opened, revealing a sharply dressed forty-something brunette smiling at him.
“Avi?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.
He suddenly felt warm and lost all semblance of late-twenties coolness as he struggled to respond. She was the most striking woman he had ever seen. Her hair seemed to tumble like water down past her shoulders and her eyes were like brilliant emeralds. A white blouse and snug black skirt hinted at underlying athleticism and while he knew she had listed her age as more than a few years older than him, he was captivated by her youthful vibrance.
“Yes...um...yes...I’m Avi. You must be Autumn?”
“I most definitely am. Come in, enter my abode, my handsome young man,” Autumn laughed and stepped aside, motioning him into the apartment.
He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, stumbling through the door, and as he found his footing inside, he remembered and brought a bouquet of roses from behind his back, holding them out stiffly like a sword.
“Ah...these are for you.”
Her face lit up and she swept the flowers from him in one hand, stepping towards him and pulling him into an embrace.
“You are so sweet!” he heard in his ear, dazzled by her response, and overwhelmed by Autumn hugging him tightly.
As she released him and stepped back, he tried to figure out the lingering smell from her perfume, a hint of sweetness and a trace of something he could only describe as earthy.
“Um. Wow. You look great!” he stammered, trying to make conversation as she walked away burying her face in the bouquet.
“Mmmmmm...eese are hresh….”, she said, disappearing into what looked like a kitchen.
“Um, what?” he replied, looking around the tastefully decorated living room.
“These are fresh!” her voice called out, “I love fresh flowers.”
“Yeah, I guess all women do,” Avi answered, walking around the living room and looking at dozens of pictures of Autumn in what appeared to be vacation spots around the world. In each picture, she stood with a group of about a dozen women, seemingly the same group. As he peered at each one, he noticed that while the women were all the same, there appeared to be a different young man in each, smiling and, from all appearances, having the time of their life. There were pictures inside the colosseum in Rome, in front of a huge golden temple in what he assumed was Thailand and in front of the Pyramids.
He picked up a picture and brought it close to his eyes to focus. As with all the other pictures, Autumn stood in a group of women in what appeared to be Stonehenge. He squinted at the picture. Their clothing and hairstyles were ones he had never seen, and he struggled to place them. They seemed older, perhaps from movies from his parents' era.
“So, you know a lot about women?”
Startled, he nearly dropped the picture, catching it with both hands.
“Yeah. Um, no. Sorry. I was just looking.”
He placed the picture back on its stand and exhaled nervously.
Autumn laughed and motioned to him. “It’s perfectly fine, those are there to remind me. LIttle remembrances of, uh...adventures with friends. Come. Sit down, let’s talk.”
Avi sat on the couch a few feet from her, turning sideways and trying to relax.
“So….Avi….I sense you are a little uncomfortable. Have you ever dated an older woman?”
Avi felt as though he couldn’t move. He was captivated. Her lilting voice sounded like a gentle river, each word smoothly caressing his ears and wrapping themselves around his arms and torso, a gentle sensation of being held.
“No. Not really. I mean, a couple of years. Not. Not, well, a lot. Not...twenty years?”
His voice squeaked, surprising himself and triggering another laugh from Autumn. He felt again, more than just hearing the sound, and something stirred in his chest.
“You’re so cute,” she said, reaching forward and taking his hand. “If I put my real age on there, no one would believe me.”
“Your real age? You’re not 47?
“Oh, my dear, sweet, Avi, I am...well, we all are….so much older than that. The age difference would astound you. It’s literally incomprehensible to the average person. And so, we all list something much younger. Something that matches what we look like. And then we see who shows up. So different now. This online ‘dating’.”
She tossed her head as she said the word ‘dating’ and Avi struggled to understand.
“We?” he asked. “I don’t understand.”
She smiled and caressed his hand.
“Yes, Avi...we. My friends in the pictures. We desire younger...company, let’s say, for our adventures. We go every year to somewhere...exotic. Somewhere that has meaning, and we renew ourselves. Think of it as a type of ceremony. We enjoy it very much and it keeps us young.”
Things clicked in Avi’s mind and he shook his head.
“Ok. Um. Wow. So, you...you all...you're some sort of….”
“Some sort of...what?”
Her face continued smiling, but Avi sensed a sudden deepness all around him and the room seemed to drop away. He was only aware of the two of them suspended in nothing, their eyes locked together and he felt overwhelmed.
With a rush of sound like the wind, he suddenly was back on the couch, holding her hand and breathing heavily.
“Wha? What?” he gasped. She leaned forward and pulled him into her arms. Once again, he felt a sensation that carried him away.
“Oh, now, now, my delectable little one. There is nothing to fear. You are going to have the time of your life. A quick vacation, you’ll have a great time, see somewhere you’ve never been, and then...everything will be fine. I will make sure that you enjoy every minute of it. Until the very end.”
Photo Credit by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash