Don't Lose Sight of Me

3

I was silent on our way back home. I gazed ahead at the cloudy sky. The sky was dark, and the half moon was bright. A couple stars were shining, but I lost track of them as we flew back home. The view was peaceful, and it reminded me why I liked flying. Natasha sat next to me, she was actually the one piloting the plane.

I think she was talking about something, but I wasn't paying attention. I turned to her, refocusing my attention.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear any of that." I confessed, she stopped talking.

"Yeah, I kind of got that."

"I'm sorry, tell me it again, I promise I'll listen."

"Okay, long story short. I really want to pick up a new hobby, but I just don't know what? I want to do something different. I'm so tired of—I don't know." She admitted still watching the sky in front of us. "I think I just need a new outlet. I'm tired of the punching bag."

I stayed silent, trying to think of things that I thought Natasha would enjoy doing. We all had our coping mechanisms, some healthier than others. Natasha's tended to be more on the self-destructive side. I think it was good she was open to trying something anew. She tended to be a little chaotic at times.

"I know Clint's the one with the "hawkeye"' but you have a very interesting take on the world. You could try photography. I would love to see how you view the world." I suggested to her, I turned to see her shrug. She thought over the idea some and seemed to be okay with it.

"Yeah, I just don't know how artsy I am." She said. I thought some more, before I pulled out a wild suggestion.

"I understand if you don't want to think about this, but have you ever thought about dancing again? You could take new dance classes. You're very graceful." Natasha never froze, she just stalls. She swallowed some, and tried hard not to look at me.

"Yeah, I have." She admitted, "But I'm a little scared. I don't want to go back there."

"Maybe it's time to build some new memories regarding dance. Replace the old with the new." I studied her face, only getting a blank slate. "I can always join a class with you, if it makes you feel better."

"Yeah, I'll think about it."

We went silent, and as the clouds floated by I thought about dancing. And I thought about how truly ungraceful I could be. But you really do just need the right partner to help you through it. I looked at my phone, to look at the date. God, I was turning 95 in a few months. Where had time gone?

"What are you thinking about?" Natasha asked me.

With a half smile, I looked down at my hands before I truthfully responded, "I'm turning 95 in a few months."

"That sounds like a party to me." I shook my head.

"Steve would probably like to throw you one." She mentioned.

I laughed a little and shook my head again. "No, no. He'd never do that to me."

"What are you going to do then?"

"I don't know."

"You guys never went on a honeymoon did you?"

"No we didn't."

"You guys could go somewhere for a nice little vacation."

"I don't think Steve is capable of vacationing."

"Neither of you are."

"Look, dinner is fine with me. I'm too old to be celebrating my birthday. I don't need anything. You know once you've had 95 birthdays the magic wares off a little."