~S~
I think that was the beginning of the end of Larks life out in New York... I really do.
She ended up taking a leave of absence from work, started helping Ruth with her school assignments at my dining room table during the day, and they took up residency right down the hallway. Lark was back in her old bedroom and Ruth was in the room that we had redone for her when she was just a baby.
It felt like a very "full circle" moment for everyone.
And you know, maybe, deep down, I had always hoped that they would end up back out West... I'm not saying I wanted them to fail out East or anything crazy like that, but as her mother, I definitely wanted her to be closer... I wanted to be apart of it and maybe that was selfish, but the truth was, I was really relieved to have them home.
I liked the chaos and fast pace of life that seemed to follow my two favorite people in the whole world... my girls.
And I wasn't the only that really loved having them back, because so did Lindsey, who was also a pretty permanent resident at my house by then.
There was nothing official, or anything like that, but I would definitely say that he had moved in... He wasn't going anywhere and I didn't want him.
It was nice... It was fun. We spent our days really quietly, which was new for us. There really wasn't anything over the top or extravagant, and I think that really brought us closer together than ever before.
We weren't worried about partying, or music, or work, or anything other than each other and our family... it was the very best kind of mundane that I had ever known.
So that Friday night was a lot like the others that we had experienced in the weeks that had led up to it.... They were quiet. However, instead of our typical take out dinner, and movie night with Lark and Ruth, it was just the two of us.
The girls had decided to go over to Suzanna's to have dinner with her family- something that was incredibly common for Lark as a teenager when she was trying to escape the chaos of her parents.
Anyway, Lindsey and I ended up going out to an Italian restaurant in Santa Monica, and once we were back at home, he went to the den to work on something and I went upstairs to take a short nap... It was very calm, I'm telling you.
But by the time I'd woken up, it was a little after ten in the evening and the house was awfully quiet, even for him.
"There's my favorite man." I had a throw blanket in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other as I slipped out onto the back patio.
He was sitting on a sun bed, a smile on his handsome face as he turned his eyes from the sky, towards me. "Look at you..." he chuckled softly, probably eyeing my messy curls or the oversized shirt that I was wearing. "How was your nap?" He wondered as he held out an arm, silently motioning for me to join him.
I giggled softly, setting my glass down on the stand next to him before I curled up on the empty sliver of the sun bed. "It was nice." I assured, tossing the throw blanket over the both of us. "Are you warm enough?" I asked as I snuggled in closer.
Nodding lightly, he waited until I was comfortable before his hand got lost in my hair. "I am now." He whispered, wrapping his arm around me to hold me a little bit tighter. "The moon is full tonight..." he lingered, leaving the most gentle kiss on the top of my head.
Sometimes he could be romantic... not often, but occasionally and that felt like one those moments.
Nodding softly, I couldn't help but chuckle as my head met his chest. "What are you doing out here, all alone, with the werewolves...?" I teased as my eyes began to fall closed once more.
He hummed softly, a faint smirk trailing across his face as he tangled his free hand in mine. "I've been out here, just thinking about you." Lindsey's words caused me to laugh right away, almost totally certain that he was joking around with me.
"Oh, yeah...?" I shook my head playfully, eyes scanning over his side profile. "I'm sure." I added with a soft smile.
Even though the night air had grown almost totally dark and the only light that illuminated was the one in the kitchen that was seeping through the sliding glass door, I could still see his little dimples when he grinned, and the soft look lingering in his blue orbs... He made my heart skip a beat, even when he wasn't really trying.
"I really was." He chuckled, but his voice was still so soft- it made me weak. "I was thinking about how happy I am that we're finally here..." Lindsey had been very gentle, more so than ever before and I wasn't sure if time had done that to him, or if it was just the stillness in our relationship... either way, he was always winning himself some brownie points with his words.
My heart sank as I felt him run the pad of his thumb back and forth across my knuckles. "We've come a long way, huh?" I whispered back as I continued to stare up at him.
I couldn't believe that we had made it back to that place either... Such a safe and comfortable spot in a crazy world, which is something that, at one point in our relationship, felt impossible for us.
Bringing my hand up to his lips, he gently unraveled my fingers to leave a kiss right in my palm. "Marry me...?" He wasn't planning to ask me that- he's admitted it, but back then, I was convinced that he had thought it through....
Pushing myself up on my elbow, I nearly bumped him right in the nose to sit. "You want to get married?" I was looking down at him, heart beating a mile a minute as this instant wave of excitement washed over me... Excited, but nervous, of course.
His lips turned up into the sweetest smile as he reached up to push some of my curls back behind me ear. "I've always wanted to marry you..." his hand stayed plastered to the side of my face, letting his thumb run across the curve of my chin as our eyes stayed locked.
I paused for a second, taking a moment to process that before I replied. "It's about time, don't you think?" I couldn't help but let out a laugh, even though the tears were beginning to sting my eyes. "Of course, I want to marry you too."
