Narrator's POV

Mickey stood excitedly in the living room that she shared with Tom as he was putting on a record. She had mentioned to him earlier in the day that she had never swing-danced before, and he was not surprised. Mickey wasn't much of a dancer, but neither was Tom. But he loved dancing with her, because he thought it was endearing that she had two left feet.

Mickey was adjusting the waistband of her light pink skirt and she tied a knot in her white tank top to get the fabric off her stomach. Tom shuffled through his records until he found the one with the most songs that he felt he could confidently dance to. The record that Tom picked was one that Mickey made him for his 24th birthday. She had hand picked all of Tom's favorite songs to put on the record, accidentally mixing up both slow and fast songs with no organization but Tom didn't mind.

"Okey-dokey," Tom said as he put the needle on the spinning record and approached Mickey. He smiled at her and asked, "ready?"

"I hope so," she chuckled nervously. She wasn't afraid to embarrass herself in front of Tom, because he had seen it all already. She was giddy to dance in the privacy in her own living room, where it was just her and Tom.

"I'm left and you're right, because women are always right," Tom said. Tom wrapped his right arm around Mickey's back, with his hand rested on her shoulder blade. Mickey placed her arm on top of Tom's, and had her hand on his shoulder. Their other hands were held together on the other side.

"I'll lead, m'kay? You're going to take a step back with your right foot, and just rock into it. Good. Now, you're just going to tap your left foot," Tom instructed. Mickey did as he said and then he continued, "take a step to the side with your right foot, then meet your left foot to it, then take another step with your right, then repeat going to the left. Side, close, side, good job."

"How was that?" Mickey asked after she very slowly completed the task after staring at her feet to make sure she didn't step on Tom.

"That was great. Let's just do those steps over." Tom repositioned his hands and asked, "ready?"

Mickey nodded and they repeated the dancing steps over and over, finally catching up to the pace of the song that was playing on the record player, Jump, Jive, and Wail.

Baby, baby, it looks like it's gonna hail
Baby, baby, it' looks like it's gonna hail
You better come inside
Let me teach you how to jive and wail
Oh, you gotta jump, jive, an' then you wail

"Hey, you're getting it!" Tom said. He saw a magic running through her soul that came out of her sparkling eyes that he was going to miss dearly. He broke the pattern by giving Mickey a spin, and she giggled until she spun back into him and she rested her hand on his chest when they kissed. They were dancing like nothing else mattered. At every turn with Tom's lead, she felt safe.

Tom's head spins around and around when Mickey is close to him. When he was dancing with her, he didn't have a care. He was so drunk with love, and all he could see was Mickey. He couldn't hear the music playing, nor were there any distractions. They were dancing on a cloud together.

"I love you," Mickey said, looking up at him after they pulled apart. She felt so light with love, like she could walk on air. She felt like she couldn't stay on the ground. She thought maybe she might take right off and fly away in the spin. She almost died for him, and she would do it again in a heartbeat.

Tom said, "I love you too, forever and always."

The song slowly died out and a new song began. It was Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra. Mickey enjoys this song but she still asked, "should I change it?"

Tom listened for just a moment before he shook his head and asked, "no, why?"

Mickey chuckled, "Christmas music? It's July."

Tom pulled Mickey's arms up around his neck and said, "close your eyes." He put his hands on her waist and suggested they they begin swaying softly to the music. Mickey closed her eyes and Tom said, "just imagine that it is Christmas Eve in the future. Our kids are upstairs in their beds, excited for Santa to come. In a couple of minutes, we will have to go and get the presents that are hidden in the attic. But right now, we are slow dancing, just like this, in our living room. There is a big Christmas tree next to us, and Christmas movies are playing in the background. We can't see our garden outside because there's a blanket of fresh snow on the ground. Everything is perfect."

Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

Mickey opened her eyes after savoring the comforting image that Tom painted for her. It was beautiful and full of love, a Christmas that she has always dreamed of for her and Tom. But in the back of her mind, she knew it would never happen. She smiled through her broken-heart and said, "I can't wait."

"Me neither," he whispered back and placed his soft lips on her forehead.

The two young lovers moved softly in a sway, like the lazy ocean that hugs the shore or how a flower bends in the breeze. Tom always felt weak when they swayed together. He could hear the sounds of violins when he was with Mickey, even if they weren't playing. They were lovingly pressing their foreheads together until the oven timer rang out. "Cookies are done."

Tom walked to the kitchen to turn off the timer, and sang along to the music in a loud and off-key tone that made Mickey laugh. He grabbed oven mitts and took out the cookies and turned off the oven.

"Our neighbors are going to hate us," Mickey laughed. She could imagine their neighbors bickering about how their music was pounding through the thin apartment walls, and how it was the middle of the night.

"Well, I'm leaving," Tom said, unbothered. He took off the oven mitt and tossed it on the counter.

"Then they'll hate me!" She laughed.

"No, they won't," Tom snickered and walked back to Mickey. He grabbed her hands and did a little shuffle with his feet before he put her hands back around his neck and his found her waist.

They both sighed, and their harsh reality of their short amount of time together hit them both at the same time. Tom brushed some of Mickey's dark hair back and she looked up at him. Their eyes were locked together, and they could almost read each other's minds.

Mickey said, "we need to have one more date before you go."

"Yes, we do," Tom agreed.

"I want you to know that even a thousand miles can't keep us apart, because my heart is wherever you are. Wherever you go, whatever you do, I'll be right behind you." Mickey believed that her and Tom were meant to be, and she would always be there for him, regardless of their terrible circumstance.

"I wish you were by my side," Tom said softly. This situation was now out of their control, and there was nothing they could do but take advantage of their short time together.

In the light hearted fun of the night, they dealt with their feelings the best way they knew how: eating cookies and listening to records together. They spent the rest of their night competing to see who had the better dance moves, a competition that Tom was not keen on ever losing. Mickey was already dreading for the day that Tom leaves, and Tom was thinking about how he was kicking Mickey's ass in their dance competition. He was trying to live in the moment, because their future was so depressing.

Next chapter is Tom and Mickey's last date 😭