What I Miss About You

Here Comes the Sun - Ben

I woke up the next morning to the best feeling ever. Slim, silken limbs were entwined with mine, a head full of tangled sun gold hair spilt across my bare chest, and the blissfully sleeping face of an angel was turned towards me, pink lips slightly parted as she breathed. So, it hadn't been a dream. I tightened my arms around her and, although I wasn't sure whether I believed in God or not, in that moment, I thanked whatever fates or gods were out there that had fashioned last night and this moment. I close my eyes and sighed at the perfection of it all. She was never leaving my side again. Of that, I was sure.

"I'm never letting you go again, Natalie," I whispered to her as she slept. "Nothing's ever going to hurt you again, baby." I kissed her naked shoulder. "That's a promise."

She stirred a little but did not wake up. In some ways I was glad of this. I was a little uneasy about how she would act this morning, and whether she would have any regrets or reservations. The last thing in the world I wanted was for last night to be a less than pleasant memory for her. For me, it was the most amazing thing in the world and what I'd been unknowingly aching for these last few torturous months.

I'm not sure how much time went by while I held her and the weak sunshine of a cool autumn day slowly began bathing us in its glow. I kissed her bare shoulder again, then her lips, then her nose, and quietly slipped from the bed, taking great care to keep her covered and warm as I reluctantly left her side.

Wearing only the jeans from last night, I padded barefoot into the kitchen and started the coffee. Soon the rich, sweet, and spicy aroma of amaretto and anise filled the air. It wasn't my first choice, but it was Natalie's favorite so I measured her cream and sugar out, poured her coffee, and softly blowing on the surface carried it back to the bedroom.

She had awakened while I'd been gone. I paused in the open doorway taking in the sight which met me. She was wearing one of my button-down shirts which hung well past her hips, down to the middle of her thighs. She was standing at the open window and gazing out into the gorgeous fall morning. Suddenly, something seem to catch her eye and I watched in silence as she made a little noise of dismay, and leaned out the window.

"Oh, no you don't," she admonished in a soft voice.

She reached for something outside, and it was then that I saw the beautiful, dew-encrusted spider's web strung just outside the window. I leaned against the doorway, holding her coffee, and watched her, a perplexed frown on my face but a smile tugging at my lips. Suddenly, my mouth parted in surprise as I realized what she was doing.

Caught in the glistening spiders web was a delicate, cobalt blue butterfly. But even more beautiful to me was the golden haired angel whose slender fingers were working on the sticky threads to free it. With a precision that stunned even me, she managed to free the butterfly without harming the web, and I saw its wings flutter feebly, and then more vigorously.

"There now," she said, as the butterfly took flight and fluttered away from her. "Sorry," she said to the rather surly looking spider sitting in the corner of the web, "but nothing is allowed to die today."

I cleared my throat softly, and she turned and met my eyes, a shy smile and a soft pink blush gracing her face. She crossed her arms, making my shirt bunch at her chest, and look down self-consciously. Then her eyes darted all about the room, taking in the bare pine floors, the homespun rug, the four poster bed, even the lace curtains blowing in the breeze from the open window.

"I was just memorizing this room right before you walked in," she said, her blush deepening. "I want to always remember it. Every detail."

Could she be any more beautiful?  I went towards her slowly, drinking her in and suddenly understanding everything that had ever perplexed me just by looking at her. I held the coffee cup out to her, a rather poor offering considering everything she had given me. She smiled at me, her hazel eyes lighting up, as she breathed in the aroma of her favorite brew.