An Unexpected Reunion, El Fin

I finally got Mom and Dad to sit down with me on my last day at home. For once, it was quiet in the house.  My siblings had taken their families off to play in the snow. Mom had fixed a pot of coffee and put a kettle of water to heat on the stove in preparation for the return of the rest of the family.  She had poured each of us a cup of coffee before sitting down with my dad and I at the kitchen table.

“What did you need to talk to us about, Dana?” My father asked. 

“Well, this house, actually.  You are due to move South in a month and near as I can tell, you haven’t even spoken with a realtor about selling it.  How are you going to have time to get the showings and the packing and the selling done before you go to Florida?” I felt bad intruding on their business.  I was no expert on selling houses, but I knew it took more than a month!

My father patted my hand and said, “Don’t worry about it. Your mother and I have it covered.” I frowned at him.

“Truthfully, honey, the house has already been sold.  We had it on the market before Thanksgiving and had a contract signed before any of you got here for the holidays.” My mother calmly stirred her coffee as she said that.

“It’s already sold?” I shouted. “You didn’t even tell any of us your plans until we were all here!  You didn’t even give any of us the option to buy it from you?”  I could feel the blood rushing to my face and knew my cheeks were bright with anger.

“Dana. We didn’t want any of you to be saddled with this place.  You all have lives of your own elsewhere.” My father said this quietly, cutting into the rant that was getting ready to spill from my mouth.  I snapped my mouth shut and stared at him.

“The family that bought the house has small children and they need more room.  This house will work well for them,” my mother said.

“But what about my family?” I asked, with tears spilling down my cheeks.  I felt lost, knowing that the house I’d grown up in, the bridge down the hill, the porch swing, my mom’s Sun Room, it was all going to be in another family. It’d never be here for me again.  It felt as if someone had taken the rug from beneath my feet.  I had lost all sense of grounding, all sense of knowing where I belonged.

“We’re still your family, honey.  Nothing can change the love your dad and I have for you or the love your siblings have for you.” My mom came around the table to put her arm around my shoulders. I shook my head at her, sniffling against the tears that refused to stay inside.

“That’s not what I mean, Mom!  What about MY family!? What about MY children and my husband? They won’t know this place? They’ll have no idea of my roots without this place.”

“Why does this matter so much, Dana?” My father seemed perplexed, as he often was when confronted with one of his daughters in tears.

I did my best to stifle my tears. My mother handed me a tissue and I cleaned myself up, sucking back the sobs that were trying to escape.  Finally I looked up at my parents.  My mom’s hand rested on my shoulder and my dad sat across the table, cradling his mug of coffee.

“I was going to talk to you about buying the house.  I wanted to be the next owner.” I sighed heavily.  “Nevermind though.  I guess it wasn’t in the cards, anyhow.” I got up and hurried up to my room.  Once there, I began throwing my things into my suitcase and carry on bag.  I had an hour or two to go before I had to leave for the airport, but I was ready to leave right then.  I muttered to myself, angry about the stupid dreams I’d allowed myself to have and the goals I’d set for myself which had all been destined to fail.

When all of my clothes and toiletries and gifts I’d received had been haphazardly shoved into one bag or another, I collapsed on the bed, causing the bags to tumble to the floor and spill their contents. I rested my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands and I cried, oblivious to the mess now scattered on the floor at my feet.  I would never be able to “come home” again after this.  In another month, this would be some other family’s haven, some other daughter’s roots. 

A light tap on the half open door warned me that someone was there.  I turned my head away, so that whoever it was couldn’t see my red nose and my wet cheeks.  After clearing his throat, he said, “I, uh, came over to see you.  Your mom said that your flight was leaving this afternoon.”  I turned to look at Simon, my eyes widened with shock at seeing him.  I couldn’t find any words to say to him.  I had purposefully not told him that I was leaving that day.

“Were you going to say goodbye, Dana?” He frowned at me from the doorway, where he leaned against the doorjamb.

I looked away again and sighed. “No, I wasn’t going to say goodbye.” I whispered.  I hadn’t wanted to make it “goodbye” because I wanted to see him again soon. I hadn’t wanted to put an end on the possible future ahead of us.  I was scared that saying goodbye would be the end for us.

“I see.  I was just a distraction while you were on vacation?  Just a bit of a walk down memory lane while you were home for the holidays?” His voice was rough.  I knew I’d hurt him without meaning to. 

“No!” I cried.  “It isn’t like that.  Please believe me, it’s not.” I stood up in protest.

He picked his way through the mess of clothes and books that had spilled from my suitcase and stood right in front me.  He did not touch me at all, he just stood there looking down at me.  A frown creased his forehead, questions glared from his eyes and his mouth was stretched thin, hiding all of the soft smiles he had had for me in the last few days.

“Make me believe it, Dana.  Help to understand what you were thinking.  Because right now, all I know is that when we first began talking again, you seemed on the same page with me.  We were ready to try again, ready to figure out what the spark that’s still between us could mean.” I nodded hopefully, trying to silently tell him that I was there with him.

“Over the last few days though, you’ve seemed to pull farther and farther away from me.  You refused the cuddle on the hammock.  You ran as soon as you could from the domesticity of playing with my kids and talking with my parents.  And the phone calls from the last couple of days have been short and stilted, as if you had run out of things to say to me.” He was speaking very softly. If I hadn’t been watching his mouth form the words, I might have missed parts of what he said.  I could feel the tears rising again and shut my eyes to keep them back.

I whispered, “I’m scared, Simon.”  His hands softly wrapped around my upper arms, just above my elbows.  I kept my eyes tightly shut. He gave my arms a gentle shake and then laughed softly, bitterly.

“Didn’t we just have the conversation about what to do about overwhelming feelings? We talked about how you should share them with me, so that we could work through it all together, didn’t we? I could swear we just talked about how you should have done that all those years ago!” He leaned his forehead against mine.  I opened my eyes and met his gaze.

“Yes, but…that was when we were together.  I should have said something then.  Now…what are we doing now?”

“I thought we were together again, trying to make a relationship again.”

“Were we?”I pulled my head away from his, arching my body back away from his body to look at his face better.  He slowly released me and took a step back, tripping over one of my black stiletto heeled boots that was on top of the pile on the floor.  He surveyed the floor and my things scattered everywhere and shook his head.

“You never used to be so messy, Dana.” He said teasingly.  Then he squatted down, gently placing my boots and sweaters back into the suitcase they’d fallen out of.  He came across a pair of my lacy panties and picked them up gently, between two fingers.  “These are different than what you used to wear too.” He grinned up at me.

I turned red and tried to snatch the panties from him, but he simply dropped them into the suitcase with the other things and moved the whole thing out of the way. Then he knelt on one knee in front of me and reached into his pocket.  My eyes widened as I took in how his position and the seriousness that was settling over his face.  He cleared his throat and looked up at me. 

He couldn’t be about to propose, could he?  what was he thinking?  What would I say?  What should I say? The tears were quiet behind my eyes but my head was racing, panicking.  I plopped back onto the bed and stared at him.

“Did you know that I was going to propose to you the next time I saw you, before we broke up in college?  I had already bought the ring and all.” He pulled a jeweler’s box out of his pocket and cradled it in his hands.  I covered my mouth to contain my gasp.

He looked up at me and raised an eyebrow.  I shook my head, and through my hand I said, “I never knew.”

“I had taken my life savings and bought you the best ring I could afford.  It was a cheap gold plated band with a chip for a diamond.  It wasn’t even worth what I spent on it when I tried to resell it.” He snorted.  I sniffed.  The tears were flowing again and I couldn’t stop them.  I could imagine how it must have hurt him when I’d broken up with him for no reason he could tell.  My heart hurt for him.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.  He shrugged and smiled at me.

“I’m kind of glad.” I raised an eyebrow at him.  He flicked open the box in his hand and looked down at the contents.  Then he smiled up at me again.  Alarm bells were jingling in my head and sirens were wailing in my ears.  Too much, too fast, they seemed to be screaming.

“I’m glad because I can offer you more now.” He paused, turning the ring box to face me and offering it up to me. “Dana, I love you. I have for years.  I hope you feel the same. I think you do.  Will you marry me?”

I didn’t even look at the ring.  It could have been tin and glass for all I cared.  I saw only Simon, with his love shining out of his eyes and his mouth smiling warmly at me.  With a cry, I launched myself at him.  We fell backwards to the floor, arms wrapped around each other, legs tangled.  I was laughing, and crying, and totally incoherent.  The alarm bells and sirens had been silenced, though.  The panic had given way to a joy I hadn’t remembered that I could feel.  I just hugged him to me, closing my eyes and whispering thanks to whatever powers had caused us to meet at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago. 

“Is that a yes?” He whispered in my ear. I nodded and whispered “yes!” back at him. Then he captured my lips in a kiss.  I sighed in pleasure and surrendered myself to it.  He abruptly pulled back and I opened my eyes to stare at him in question. He just chuckled and shook his head and then began to stand up.  He pulled me along with him.

“I have something else to tell you.”

“More? I don’t think I can stand any more today.  I hope it’s not something that will make me cry, because I don’t think I can handle any more strong emotions today.” I sighed.

Simon grinned, and tugged me to the door and down the stairs.  My mom and dad were still in the kitchen and they looked at me with concern on their faces.  Simon turned to me and said, “Where did the ring go?” I shrugged and slid my hand into his. “Who cares?” I grinned at him.  He laughed and said, “I was going to show it to your folks!” “Oh well.”

“Are you ok, Dana?” My mom asked.  She looked questioningly between me and Simon.

“Yes, I think I’ll be ok, Mom.” I squeezed Simon’s hand. “Simon asked me to marry him!”

My mom clasped her hands in front of her chest and smiled at us. My father stood up and walked over to us. He stuck out his hand to shake Simon’s hand and said, “Take good care of her, son.” Simon nodded and said, “Yes sir, I will.”

“Oh, but this is wonderful! That means the house will stay in our family after all!” My mom grinned at Simon.  He shifted on his feet and looked down at me. I looked between them both, raising my eyebrows.

“What do you mean, Mom?” I asked.

“Didn’t he tell you?” She glared at Simon and he shook his head.

“I hadn’t gotten that far yet.” He looked at me, “I, um, I bought your parents’ house last month.  It was before I knew you’d be in town for the holidays, even…” I let go of his hand and walked to the kitchen door to look out the window towards the woods that hid the bridge.  I sighed.

“Dana?  We can sell it if you want.  We can live wherever you’d like, even out West if you can’t bear to move back here.”  He came up to stand behind me, his hands settling on my hips.  He whispered, “Dana?”

Tears were threatening again and I was having trouble getting words out.  Finally, I managed to whisper, “You’re going to have to trim the woods back to the bridge before Effie starts dating, you know.” He laughed and hugged me. He whispered, “I love you,” into my ear and we stood there looking down the grassy hillside to the woods.  With his arms tight around me, I felt content and happier than I had in many years.

Read the whole story here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, and Part Ten

An Unexpected Reunion, Part Ten

“He’s a nice guy.”

“But what does that mean?” My friend wailed across the phone line.  I had called her to let her know when I was
flying back home and to see if she’d pick me up at the airport. Somehow, though, we had gotten on to the subject of
Simon.

“I don’t know…he’s just a good guy.” I shrugged and rolled my eyes.

“Has he given you flowers?” She asked.

“No, not recently.” I replied. Not since our high school prom, I thought.

“Has he thrown his coat over a puddle so you don’t have to walk in the water?” She shouted.

I laughed and said, “No, I don’t think he’s ever done that.”

“What makes him a good guy, a nice guy, then?!” She questioned.

“I don’t know, Gina.  He adores his daughters, he respects his elders, he respects my boundaries, he wears decent
clothes, his house feels like a home, I can bring him home to my family and they all love him.  Does any of that
help?”

“Back up.  What boundaries did you set?  He’s this fantastic guy, you’ve known him for years, what boundaries could
you possibly set?”

“Gina, why are you so strung up about this?”  I could not remember a time when she’d sounded so excited about
something other than one of her boyfriends.

“Dana! You haven’t had a boyfriend in years and now you’re telling me about some guy back in your hometown. Of course
I’m excited for you!  Are you going to move back there?  Is he going to move out here? Tell me more!”  She had me married off to Simon already, I realized.

“We haven’t talked about any of that.  I’m not even sure if it’s that serious yet, or if it ever will be.”

“But you want it to get that serious, don’t you?” She asked in a surprisingly quiet voice.

“Honestly, I think I do.  He’s the only guy who has ever made me dream of happily ever after, you know?”

“Honey, why are you coming back here then?  You should stay there and see where it goes.”

“I have a job, and an apartment, and a cat there, remember?” It was so tempting to start thinking of moving back to
my home town.  I wish I had given it serious consideration years ago so that I could have spent more time with my parents before they moved to Florida. I sighed.

“Get a job there, get an apartment there, and move the monster cat along with all of your other stuff.” It sounded so simple when Gina suggested it.  Yet so overwhelming when I thought of actually doing it.

“I take it you and Cally haven’t been getting along?” I asked.

“Don’t get me started.  Let’s just say both the cat and I will be happy to have you back,” Gina said. “But that’s besides the point!  How does this ‘nice guy’ feel about you? Does he want you to move back?”

“I don’t know.  We avoided talking about the future the last time we talked.  I think it’s as hard for him to believe as it is for me.  He’s been married, and he has children!  It seems crazy to think about getting back together with an old girlfriend.  It’s certainly crazy to indulge in a casual affair, what with the babies to think about.  I’m so confused about it all.”  Just a few days ago, I’d been sure about what I was doing.  Marry Simon, move into my parents’ house, carry on with life. It was a good plan.  I wasn’t so sure anymore about the path I was supposed to take, and I didn’t like that.  I’d always been the sort to make plans, have goals and to accomplish them.  Simon always seemed to throw all of my self-discipline to the winds.

“Well, it will all come out alright in the end.  You’ll see.  I’ll be at the airport to pick you up tomorrow night. We’ll talk about it all then, right?”

“Yeah, tomorrow.  Thanks, Gina.”

“Hey, no problem.  What are friends for?  Take care of yourself, ok?”  I said the same to her and we hung up. 

I leaned my head against the wall behind me and closed my eyes.  I had to figure out what I was doing about that Simon thing.  Was I crazy to think of marrying him?  Maybe all we had left were memories.  There were only so many times we could relive the good ol’ days, no matter how good they felt.
 
I was curled up in the windowseat in mom’s sun room for quite awhile, thinking.  I kept trying to wrap my head around the idea of moving back and dating Simon seriously.  Somehow, it all seemed like a silly girl’s dream compared to what reality had been the other day at his house.

Effie and I had played while Simon took care of Bridget.  I tried to chat with his parents but his mom seemed tentative about talking with me too much.  Eventually, I’d given up and given my goodbyes.  Simon and I hadn’t had another minute alone once Bridget had woken up and we’d only spoken in snatched phone conversations since then.  It was time for me to pack up and head back to real life now.  And my real life didn’t include a boyfriend, especially one who had children.  I sighed. 

“Any thing you want to talk about?” I jumped when my mom’s voice interrupted my thoughts.  I looked over at her, sitting in her rocking chair.  She’d pulled it around to face the window seat.  She raised an eyebrow at me.

“Um…no, I don’t think so.” She’d always had an uncanny way of knowing when one of us kids was worried about something. 

“It’s been good to see Simon again after all these years,” she said.

“Yes, it has. It was crazy coincidence to run into him at the store like I did.”

“Crazy coincidence or meddling fate?” She asked.

“Aw, mom.  You don’t believe in fate, do you?” I studied her face carefully and she shrugged.

“I think we can determine our own fate, but I also think the world likes to give us gifts if we are open to them.  Perhaps meeting Simon again after so long was one of those gifts of the world.”  She lifted an eyebrow at me.

“It gave us a chance to close up some loose ends, that’s all. We talked about some things that had been left unsaid years ago.”

“That is a gift, true.  Have you ever been in love, Dana?”

I frowned at my mom, wondering where she was going with this conversation. “Sure, Mom.  You know I have.”

She nodded, “With Simon, right?  Have there been other loves?”

“No, Mom. You probably would have heard about them if there had been.  You know that.”

“Well, I’ve always believed that true love will wait.  If it was right ten years ago, it could still be right today. You both have different lives now, but if you can learn to weave those lives together, you may find you have something built to last.”

I snorted, “Mom, you sound like a tired commercial, full of cliches.”

She shrugged and smiled, “Possibly.  Cliches are often so true they become overused.  Does that make them any less true?”  She rose from her chair and walked away.  “Just think about it, Dana.  Just because you and Simon have been in different worlds for years does not mean you can’t build a world together now.”

I shook my head and sighed.  My mom could be very wise, and we certainly all turned to her for advice, but it wasn’t like her to give so much unsolicited advice.  I closed my eyes again and drifted back into my thoughts.

Read the whole story here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, and El Fin

An Unexpected Reunion, Part Nine

Christmas morning was spent with my family, enjoying the kids’ reactions to their gifts.  The only drawback was that the kids got everyone up at five in the morning.  I’d have been happy to wait until eight!  Still, their parents had done a good job of finding just the right gifts and the crows of glee and dancing around in excitement were fun to watch.  My parents sat quietly, for the most part, smiling at the whole family together that way.  I could tell that having us all together for the holiday was the best gift any of us could have given them.

In the aftermath of the gift opening, we had brunch and examined favorite gifts together.  It was a quiet time. Some people drifted off for naps, others took walks.  I found myself curled up on the window seat in my mom’s favorite room.  She called it her Sun Room, because it was lined with South facing windows and was usually warm with sunlight.  She used it for craft projects, reading, doing puzzles, or whatever it was that she felt like doing.  It was the one part of the house, except perhaps the kitchen, which she claimed as her own.  When we were kids, it had been our playroom, but it hadn’t had nearly so many windows then.  My dad had remodeled it as a twenty fifth wedding anniversary gift to her, because he knew how much she loved the sun and wanted a room that was just hers.  He’d always had the garage to retreat to when he wanted time alone.  She did not have any such room when us kids were growing up.

I closed my eyes against the brilliance of the snow and sunlight, soaking up the warmth.  I sighed.  Pleasant as all of the family togetherness had been that morning, I was uncomfortably aware that I was the only unattached sibling, the only one without a smaller family unit to lavish love upon.  Even my parents had each other. Yesterday had felt different.  Yesterday, I’d had Simon and his daughters here, and his parents too. I had been able to attach myself to their family with relative ease and hadn’t felt so left out of my own family as a result. Simon and I had not been blatant in our attentions towards one another.  Only once had we even touched once we’d gone back to the house, and that had been when we’d said goodbye with a hug.  Perhaps it had lasted a moment too long, or perhaps it had felt so much like coming home that that had communicated itself to others.  Whatever it was that had alerted my sisters, they had converged on me in the kitchen once the youngsters were asleep.  The chattering trio had tried to interrogate me about my intentions and his intentions, and all sorts of other nonsense.  They’d even tried to dig into why he and I had broken up in the first place.  When I was finally sick of fielding their quizzing questions, my mother came into the room and put a stop to it with quiet words.  She’d said, “Girls, whatever Simon and Dana have between them now or had between them in the past, it is theirs.  Leave her be.  You have your own loves to worry about.” And with the obedience of our youth, they’d backed off, and gone to find their husbands.  I’d given my mom a hug and headed for my own bed. I was in no mood that night for idle chit chat or playing board games with those still awake.

I must have dozed off in the warmth of the sun because a little while later, one of my five year old nephews was standing beside me tapping my arm over and over again.  He didn’t say anything, but he tapped and tapped until my eyes opened.  Then he thrust a phone into my face and chirped, “It’s for you, Aunt Dana!”  Then he ran out of the room, cackling and calling to his cousins.

Groggily I stared at the phone. I heard a tinny voice saying, “Dana?  Are you there?  Hello?”  I put the phone to my ear and I realized it was Simon’s voice. I smiled.

“Hello, Simon.  Merry Christmas!” My voice was husky from sleep.

“Dana! Merry Christmas to you too. How was your morning?” He asked.

“Oh, you know…the kids woke us up too early, they thoroughly enjoyed their gifts and I got a big kick out of watching their excitement.  We’ve hit the afternoon lull, now.  How was your morning?”

Simon laughed and said, “Effie woke me up much too early, as well, but it was worth it to see her excitement. She was still vibrating with it after we ate lunch.  It was all I could do to convince her that she should take a nap.”

“But you were able to convince her?”

“Yes, amazingly, both she and Bridget are napping at the same time now.  My mom and dad have also wandered off to have a rest. And I’m stretched out on my bed, actually.  I was laying here thinking to nap myself, but my brain had other ideas.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.  I started to wonder what it’d be like to have you here with me, in my bed.  Is that a dangerous way to think?”

I felt myself getting warm and tingly and smiled. “I don’t think it’s dangerous, no, but I think it could lead us down a very interesting path.  Are you ready to go there again?”

I heard him exhale slowly and inhale again. He very softly said, “I think I’ve been ready for a long time, but I didn’t realize it until I held you in my arms again yesterday.  I realized I have missed you very much.”

“Ah, you’ve missed my body.” I said drily.

“No! That’s not what I meant. Well, it’s part of it.” He sighed.

“I was just teasing, Simon,” I said.

“I know, but it did come out of my mouth that way.  I didn’t mean it to.  I meant that…so much of the past ten years just blew away like so much dust on the wind when I held you yesterday.  It felt right.  Now I’m not with you and things feel off again.  Do you know what I mean?” For Simon to sound so tentative, I knew that the words he was speaking meant a lot to him, but that he hadn’t fully processed and accepted the feelings yet. I didn’t think he knew what the feelings meant in the long run.  I’m not sure I knew, except in an abstract way which related to my goal of marrying him.

“I think I understand.  I was just sitting here thinking that something was missing from the day.  I think it’s because you, Bridget and Effie aren’t here.” I sighed.

“Well, I know your family has traditions at dinnertime, but would you be able to sneak away for a little while?  You could come over here.  Then at least part of our day would feel,” he paused, “right.”

I considered his suggestion for a minute and then eagerly agreed.  We hung up as soon as I’d gotten directions to his house and then I went to change, put on my snow boots and let my mom know where I was going.  She reminded me about dinner being at five that evening and then added, “Simon and his family are more than welcome to join us again, Dana, if you feel like inviting them. Just let me know if they are coming so that the table can be properly set before they get here.” I nodded and thanked her, then rushed to my car.  I was eager to get to Simon, far more eager than I thought I should be.  I felt like a teenager again, sneaking off to be with my boyfriend, knowing that we would do things our parents would probably disapprove of.

The drive across town seemed to take forever.  The traffic was lighter than I’d expected but the roads were still icy and slick.  I had to drive far slower than the posted speed limits in order to feel safe.  Finally I pulled into his driveway.  I saw him in the picture window at the front of the house, holding the drapes back to watch the road.  I could see his lips curve in a smile as I put my car in park.

I grabbed my purse as I swung out. I almost slipped on some ice on my way up the walk, but found his arms catching me before I’d done more than skid. I smiled ruefully up at him and said, “Thanks.  I guess I’m not used to ice skating any more.” A laugh rumbled from his chest but he shook his head. “I’m sorry there was any ice to slip on. I should have salted better.” He kissed me swiftly, a hard peck on the lips, and then pulled me in to the warmth of his house.

As soon as the door was closed behind me, he turned towards me and wrapped me in his arms.  His mouth swooped down to mine.  Our kiss left me breathless with its urgency, and I could feel him breathing quickly as well.  He stared down at me, panting, our bodies aligned from shoulder to knee, and all I could think was “I love you.”  I could not bring myself to say it though because it felt like rushing things. I sighed. He frowned.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.  I shook my head and laid my head on his shoulder, burying my face against his neck.  He stroked up and down my back. Softly he said, “Would you like a tour of the house now?”

I nodded and said, “As long as it won’t disturb anyone.”

“I’ll skip those rooms, ok?” He gave me another squeeze and then released me.  He caught hold of my hand before stepping away.  He used it to tug me along after him thorugh the house.  Basement family room, kitchen, dining room, living room: he led me through all of these rooms and in a daze I admired the masculine decorations in each which were scattered with the paraphernalia of two little girls.  My attention was held far more by the warmth of his hand against mine, by the way our fingers were laced together as if we were lovers again.  I was riveted by the vibrations of his deep voice as he described each room, and by the way he rushed through each description as if he had a destination in mind.

Upstairs, in a quiet hallway he stopped in front of a closed door.  I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.  He shook his head and gently opened the door.  He released my hand and nudged me into the room ahead of him.  As I walked in, I was captivated by the large window across the room. The drapes were drawn open and the view was breathtaking.  I felt myself pulled to the view of the snow covered hills in the far distance and the lacey looking tree branches which framed the view.  I inhaled sharply, feeling as if I’d forgotten to breathe.  I smiled with delight and turned to look at Simon.  He was standing against the closed door with a small smile on his face, just watching my reaction.  This, then, was what he’d been so eager to show me throughout the house.

“It’s breathtaking, Simon! How lucky are you to have found such a place with a such a view.”

“It became far more enthralling when you walked over to stand in front of the view.”  I rolled my eyes and grinned at him.  He chuckled and strolled over to join me.  He reached past me and a door slid open where I had thought there was only a window.  He gestured me through the door but I hesitated.

“I left my coat downstairs, Simon.”

“I’ll keep you warm. Don’t worry.” He smiled and put a hand in the small of my back to push me gently through the door.

Outside, around a corner, was a private balcony which had been cleared of snow.  In the corner, what looked like a hammock was swinging in the breeze, but it was piled with blankets and pillows.  I shivered as a gust of wind whipped past us.  Simon shut the sliding glass door behind us and wrapped a warm hand around my arm and pulled me to the hammock. 

“That looks like it could be a cozy nest,” I said.

“I hope so.  Want to try it out?” He grinned at me.

“I thought you wanted me in your bed?  You didn’t tell me you slept outside!”

“We could go back in there,” he gestured back the way we had come.  I shivered again and he wrapped his arms around me, sharing his body warmth.  He whispered in my ear, “Or we could cuddle under those blankets on the hammock and ignore the world around us for awhile.”

I pulled back and looked at him.  The idea was appealing, but I had a feeling we wouldn’t get any talking done if we burrowed into that warm cocoon of blankets. I thought we needed to do some talking though, before we went too far down the path of nostalgia.

“Could we just go back in the house and have some coffee or cocoa or something and talk?  Would that be ok?” I hugged him around the waist, asking him wordlessly to take things slow for me.  He sighed in disappointment and nodded.  He kept an arm wrapped around me as we walked back to the glass door.  Before we rounded the corner, I stopped to look back at the scene he’d prepared.  It was reminiscent of our cuddles on my parents’ porch swing and I loved that he’d thought of it.  I looked up at him and he raised an eyebrow in response.

“Can I take a rain check on this?” I nodded towards the hammock. He leaned down and nuzzled my neck, sliding soft kisses behind my ear.

“Absolutely,” he breathed softly.  Then he slid open the door and I walked through ahead of him.  I realized that we’d walked through his bedroom before and I hadn’t even noticed because I was too busy looking at the view.  He wrapped his arms around me from behind, kissing my neck again.  I leaned back against him, closed my eyes and savored the feel of him against me.  I was about to turn around and ask for a real kiss when I heard a tiny voice wailing, “Daaaaaddddddyyyyy!”  He rested his chin on my shoulder and sighed. 

“Guess I’m on duty already. Why don’t you head down to the kitchen and I’ll meet you there.  I need to get Effie before she wakes up Bridget.”  He released me and hurried out the bedroom door.  I heard him quietly greet Effie and calm her.  I wandered down the stairs to the kitchen, quietly considering all that had just happened.

Read the whole story here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, and El Fin