Ash on the Wind

Chapter 2

Ash on the Wind
Chapter 2

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen”

Amelia, although still reeling from the nights events, felt a little better and a little stronger as her meeting came to a close. She had shared openly with the group about the fire that had destroyed her home, her belongings, and the irreplaceable memorabilia of her dead son. She was frank about her cravings for a drink too. The members of the group, despite being strangers, had been unanimous in their support for her, giving her the strength that she needed to not give into the urge.

Now, as the group said the Lord’s Prayer in perfect unison, a sense of calm descended over her. That and the knowledge that Kai was on the way was enough to get her through for the time being .

After, she lay back on the hotel bed and stared at the ceiling. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the acrid smell of smoke. Her clothes reeked of it and she supposed that meant that she did too. “I should really shower”, she thought. But she was too exhausted to move. Plus she had no clothes to change into. She was thinking she needed to buy herself some new ones when sleep finally caught up with her.

It felt like only minutes had passed when a knock at the door brought her back to her senses. Bleary eyed with tiredness, she dragged herself up and opened the door. There stood Kai, fist suspended in mid-air, halted on it’s journey to knock on the door for a second time.

Amelia was so relieved to see them that before Kai could even say hello, she was wrapped around them, clinging to them like her life depended on it. They wrapped their arms around her back and shoulders and let her be until finally they felt her grip loosen.

“Hey”, she whispered. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I know you are. We should probably go inside now. Okay?”

There was a moment when Amelia drew back and took in their surroundings. In her relief at Kai’s arrival, she’d forgotten that they were in the hallway of a busy hotel. The other guests, sensing the intimacy of the couples embrace, were trying not to look as they passed but they could hardly avoid seeing it.

She stepped back into the room and held the door open for her partner to join her. The door clicked softly closed as Kai took her hand and lead her back to the bed. Laying down, they drew her down beside themself. She laid her ear on their chest and the sound of their heart beat had a hypnotic effect, relaxing her and lulling her right back to sleep.

When she next awoke, several hours had passed. Kai had been busy. On a chair lay fresh, clean clothes, a toothbrush, hairbrush and shoes. The smell of coffee permeated the air along with the smell of pastry. Her tummy rumbled and she realised it had been the best part of a day since she’d eaten anything.

Kai brought her a selection of pastries and a hot, sweet coffee, insisting she stay in bed to eat. They sat beside her and sipped their own cup.

“Thank you, Kai. This is so kind of you.”

They batted away the compliment, saying it wasn’t anything. They were smiling that shy, bashful, half smile she always found so sexy as they said this.

“I’m so relieved that you are safe. Scout too. If anything had happened to you two.....”.

The thought didn’t need to be finished, the sentiment behind it being absolutely clear. Their hand found hers and intertwined with it as Amelia rested her head on their shoulder.

“How did you know what sizes to get?”

“I’ve undressed you enough times, Shepherd!” That little smile returned. “I checked your shoes before I went to the store.”

“I need to shower. The smell of smoke is everywhere. I'm can’t seem to find enough energy to do it though.”

“Then, let me help you, sweetheart”.

They went into the bathroom and Kai set the water running. Getting the temperature right, they turned back to their girlfriend and lifted the hem of her jumper. She raised her arms, to allow Kai to pull it off over her head. They unbuttoned her blouse and slipped it off her shoulders. Her trousers followed and then her underwear.

With gentlemanly care, they helped her into the shower before undressing themselves and joining her. She looked up at them with gratitude. Kai reached for the shampoo and lathered her brown locks before gently rinsing them again. Using body wash, they washed her body. Their touch was so tender that Amelia all but melted under it. After rinsing her off, they quickly attended to themself.

After, they wrapped both of them up in fluffy white hotel towels and led her back to the main room. They dried her and combed her hair before dressing her again. She sat silently, letting Kai work, offering no resistance.

Once, they too had dressed and bagged up her old clothes for laundering, they ordered some room service for dinner.

“We can stay here tonight and in the morning, go to the apartment. If that’s okay?”
Amelia was okay to do that. Once she had Kai, she was good. “Can we go by Link’s place too? I need to see Scout.”

“Think Link would let us take him with us? It’d be pretty wonderful to have him with us for our first night together in our new home, don’t you think?”

Home. Their home. Together. She felt warmed by the thought of it. If home was where the heart was and where you felt safe and protected,  then Kai was her home. Scout’s too and so she could only agree that he should share their homecoming experience.

“I think he’ll be okay. Tomorrow was scheduled to be one of my nights with Scout anyway so I’m sure it’ll be alright.”

“You want to see pictures of it? I have some here.”

They settled into each other, naturally fitting together like two puzzle pieces. Kai showed her the pictures and they talked about what they’d need to get tomorrow. They made a shopping list that included groceries, bed linen, toiletries, clothes and cot for Scout.

It was a happy conversation for Amelia but also bittersweet. The Sister House had been her home for so long and she was only just beginning to grieve its loss. Kai listened as she explained how she felt and reassured her that it seemed very understandable to them. It was a very normal response to a very abnormal situation.

After dinner, they settled down to watch a movie, but neither of them made it to the final credits. They slept, wrapped up in each other and awoke the next morning, ready to get back into the world again.