L:
I almost run through the foyer, stumbling over little kid shoes before I pull open the front door. It's pouring down rain, but the red glow of taillights not too far down the driveway is still visible, which seems like a beacon of hope.
"Stevie!" I shout, running down the sidewalk completely barefoot.
I might look really pathetic, or maybe I look helplessly in love- I don't know, but I can't let her go. I can't let her get on a plane, fly into the mountains for five days after we just stood in the kitchen, bitching at each other over something stupid.
"Stevie!" I shout again, but a part of me thinks that she won't be able to hear me over the sound of the rain. I have to try anyway.
And it really only takes me a second to catch up to her once she stops at the end of the driveway. Catching my breath steadily, my hand meets the drivers side window hard, which causes her to jump slightly. She looks at me through the glass and even though there's rain drops racing down the window- I can tell that there were tear drops racing down her face.
"Stephanie, get out!" I hit the window again, but this time a little softer.
In one swift motion, she pushes open the car door and steps into the pouring rain, slamming the door behind her. "What do you want?" She yells over the storm.
She looks fed up, but so am I. I'm tired of us and the constant need to be at each other's throat. We're a nightmare.
"I'm over this, Stevie!" I shout back- not to be mean, but so she can actually hear me.
"I'm over it too!" She shakes her head, an unenthusiastic chuckle coming right after her words. "You think I want this?" She asks, eyes soft suddenly.
~~~
S:
"I don't want to fight with you over people we might have a future with- it's not fair!" He yells as the rain continues to hit us both with a force.
Creasing a brow, I don't know what he expects out of this. I don't know what he's trying to say that I'm just not understanding. If he thinks I want to fight with him over trying to fall in love with someone else, someone that could make the other happy- he's wrong. He is so wrong, because I want nothing more than to find happiness and for him to be happy.
"I have to go, Lindsey." I have a flight that leaves in two hours and the last thing I want is to get sick before I even make it to the tundra.
"Just stop talking for one second!" He holds up his hand, trying to silence me completely. "I don't want to spend my whole life trying to hash something out that we're both entitled to." He pauses for a moment, but I stay totally quiet. "We're both entitled to love someone and to be loved by someone, so I don't want to fight with you over something natural." He shrugs and I just now realize how soaked he is from the rain. He looks cold....
"I-" I get ready to tell him that I totally agree, but his index finger lands softly on my lips to shut me up once again.
"I've been looking for love for a really long time," he moves his finger, so instead he can cup my face with one of his hands. "And I realized that I've been looking into the eyes of the only woman I could ever love for the last four years." He adds, eyes immediately finding the core of my own.
"Lindsey..." I linger, biting down on my bottom lip as I bring a hand up to his face as well. "Lindsey, I-"
"I can't love someone else the way I love you, Stevie." He says as he unintentionally wrinkles his nose softly, almost like he's twitching. "I've tried and it doesn't happen. I always revert back to you." He tells me. "It might sound cheesy, but I am so in love with you, I can't handle it." For the first time ever, I swear, I do see my future...
I see us chasing our grandchildren around the backyard in twenty years, and I see anniversary parties, and milestone birthdays, all spent with him.
I stare at him for a moment, the only sound is the rain surrounding us. "I love you, too." That isn't good enough, I know it isn't. But right now, I can't think of anything that could even compare to his words.
"Don't leave," he shakes his head gently, eyes soft with hope. "Don't get on that plane and leave us."
I look at him for a short moment, trying to think about how I'm supposed to reply to that. "I'm not going anywhere, Lindsey." I assure as my eyes start to scan over his face.
He might be soaking wet, but he's still the most handsome man I've met. And even though we can't seem to get along all that well, I could never love anyone as much as I love him... Like he said, he's tried and so have I- it hasn't helped. I still look at him and see everything I've ever wanted in a man. He's caring, sometimes annoying, always helpful and totally in love with our two children. That's perfect to me.
"I'm not leaving you." I whisper, biting down on my lower lip.
"Come back inside..." his hands both fall on my hips as he gently leans in to capture my lips.
Suddenly I'm like putty in his hands. Within the matter of five minutes, I can't imagine getting on an airplane and leaving three out of five of the most important people in my life. I can't do it.
~~~
L:
It doesn't take long for us to get back into the house and into some dry clothes. Now suddenly it's like happiness swallowed all the darkness. Only an hour ago, we couldn't stand one another, but now this feels exactly how it's meant to.
She's sitting on my bed, hair curled soft from the rain as she wears one of my old Jimi Hendrix t-shirts and it seems like heaven to me.
"You're so beautiful," I can't help but stare as I crawl up the bed slowly.
"I've missed you, Lindsey." She gives me a side smirk, wrapping her arms around my neck as soon as I make it to her.
"I'm gonna kiss you," I can't help myself. Those lips are begging to be kissed.
"Please, kiss me." She giggles, hand moving up to cradle my face. "Kiss me," She repeats, biting down on her bottom lip softly.
Leaning in, my lips meet hers which seems to send this electric spark through the entire room. This is it. This is exactly what I've needed to be happy.
All I have ever needed was her and our two children.
Slowly pulling away, I hoist myself above her, eyes scanning all of her beauty. She doesn't have an ounce of make up on, but I love that far more than all the mascara, the eyeliner, the foundation. She is extremely beautiful exactly the way she is.
"Can you kiss me again?" She smiles lightly, the pad of her thumb running along the underneath of my eye.
"I love you," I whisper into her ear.
"I love you, Lindsey."
