Passion's Instinct

Twelve

Hayden

I paced the room as I waited for Natalie to get out of the shower so we could walk the boardwalk. Her beautiful singing made me curious, and I stepped close to the door.

"...And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah...Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelu...jah. But baby I've been here before, I've seen this room and I've walked this floor." The water turned off and she stepped out of the shower, continuing to sing. I pressed my ear against the door of the bathroom to hear. "You know, I lived here alone before I knew ya. And I've seen your flag on the marble arch, Love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah." She shuffled towards the door, and I dove out of the way so she wouldn't notice I was listening.

Natalie walked out to me and smiled.

I waited a minute, tapping my fingers against my chin. Then I decided to mention it. "That was beautiful."

Natalie pulled her sundress over her head and looked at me. "You heard?"

I nodded, my eyebrows raised. "Everything. It was nice."

"Thank you, but..." I could tell she was embarrassed.

"I never knew you could sing like that," I added. "Hey, we're married now. Don't be embarrassed."

Natalie walked towards me, her light dress flowing behind her. She took my hands in hers and kissed my cheek. "I'm not. I just had no idea you were listening. And, Hayden?"

"What?"

"Thank you. You're always here to point out the beautiful elements of things. I love that."

I smiled a little and kissed her. "So...are we ready to go?"

"Yes."

***********************************

As we walked along the boardwalk that evening, several people asked if we could take pictures with them. But something Natalie and I noticed about the people in the South--they were much more mannered and kind than the people we lived around.

I thought it was great. I also wondered what was going on back home.

***********************************

Thief

I creeped up to the new celebrity couples' house and stifled a chuckle. I couldn't believe how easy it was to break in!

I knew they were away. I had been watching them everyday for the past two weeks. I also knew their dog wasn't there. That way, it wouldn't bite my head off or give me away.

I took my hammer and smashed the glass of the window. It made a loud noise, and I climbed in right away. But there was a slight problem.

The alarm went off.

I covered my ears with my hands and scurried around, trying to find my way back out of the house. I ran past pictures of the two, most of them being wedding pictures. I took some off of the wall, as well as several pieces of jewelry. All I wanted was revenge. While I got paid nothing for my dirty job of scrubbing toilets, celebrities got paid billions to act and sing, and it wasn't fair.

As I exited the front door, I ran straight into a police officer and collapsed to the ground.

***********************************

Hayden

"What?" Natalie stared at me, her eyes wide.

"I guess we're going home now," I said. "I'll buy plane tickets to board tonight."

"Hayden, what if they stole our memories? Our pictures, the things that mean so much to us..."

"The thief was caught. There's nothing stolen." I took her hand. "Come on."

Once we were back to the beach house, Natalie packed up while I sat on the computer, buying plane tickets. Fortunately, there were some available for tonight, which was exactly what we needed. I typed in my credit card number and purchased the tickets.

"We're going home tonight, Natalie."