Heartlines

12: Stop and Stare

Ben grabs my hand, and we wheel the suitcases towards the front door. My suitcase is light because I have an entire closet full of clothing inside, Ben's was heavier because I swear his entire apartment was inside his bag.

Quickly, I race down the cobblestone sidewalk to the front door of the house. The Christmas lights are up and on for me outside the house. I clap with joy and inform Ben that the staff lives across the street, and I asked them to open the house two weeks earlier.

Throwing open the front door, I step aside and let him walk ahead of me. Our front door opens into a large foyer, with my father's den to the left of the main door. Ben sets the bags down and follows me down the three steps into the sunken living room. All our furniture in the house is bright white because my mother loved the clean look.

"Very white." Ben smiles at me.

Aside from the furniture, there was white walls, and large crystal chandeliers hanging every couple feet. The throw pillows and fresh flowers were the only items that brought color to the room. It suddenly seemed very sterile and untouched. I push him deeper into the house, towards the back it's all windows and doors to showcase the gorgeous ocean views.

There is a smaller tv room off the kitchen and I grin at the memory. Pointing to the single couch in the space, I grin at Ben. "My dad would sit here while my mom cooked, he would harass her in a loving manner. They adored each other. I can still hear them laughing and joking with each other."

Ben hugs me from behind and kisses the back of my head. "I want to see where little Allyson spent her time in this massive house."

"Upstairs. You can either use the grand staircase up front in the foyer or I can show you the back, secret staircase." I tease.

"Secret." He laughs.

I pull him towards the back staircase, it's a giant u-shaped staircase with ultra-plush carpet. When we get to the top, the landing opens to a giant hallway that wraps around the entire level, the formal living room is below us. I push open the first door on the right, this is mine. My parents' bedroom is at the end of the hall and massive.

My bedroom is the size of Ben's entire loft in Boston, and I stand at the door while he looks around. I have a sitting area with a massive fireplace next to my floor to ceiling windows. The walls are still painted purple and black from my teenage years. All my favorite pictures still hang on the walls - pictures of place that I have explored, pictures of those close to me, and pictures of my family. Ben is studying all the photos and shakes his head with a grin when he finds the picture of Alex and me.

"You know, he's a heavy guy to compete with." Ben mumbles.

Giggling, I make my way to him and hug him tight. "Not even a close race. I'm in love with you. You're the guy I want. I will always pick you." I remind him.

"Remember that." He smiles proud.

He goes back to looking at the pictures and makes comments about how little I've changed. I point out some of the people he will probably meet at some point of our stay here. He looks at my built-in bookcases and studies the books that I read growing up. I follow him to the attached bathroom.

"I don't think we need to go back to Boston. We can stay here." He jokes.

My bathroom has a giant glass shower with decorative tiles from Italy. The shower has built-ins for my shampoos and shower gels. I have a separate bear claw tub with a splash tray below because I love to fill the water to the very top. The tub sat in front of a large picture window. The flooring was heated, and the vanity took a whole wall.