~S~
We didn't tell anyone... we didn't have to. Nothing had really changed, not physically, at least.
He was still, technically, a married man and honestly, even if he wasn't, there was just no real rush... We had waited over thirty- five years, what was another six months? Besides, we were both hitting sixty... no need for anything over the top.
So, instead of running out and finding a place to have a wedding and telling all of our closet friends and family, we kept living exactly how we had been and what he had asked me that night remained our secret for the time being.
You might think that sounds like we weren't excited, but you also have to remember, we had played that game before and it didn't work out.
Sometimes it doesn't and that's okay... But I had to keep that in mind still, even though we had changed and grown. We were more mature than ever before and it didn't have anything to do with age.
That being said, instead of hurrying into a new life together, we silently assured each other that when everything was totally figured out, he would be coming home to me and I would be waiting... That was enough for us.
In fact, that was all I needed and he seemed content with it too.
Our lives weren't the only ones changing though... No, we were back to having a house full- Lark, Ruth and every other week, we had Eleanor and Foster.
It was busy and changing, but fun and exciting too.
I loved those years with them.
~L~
"Where's grandma and grandpa?" Ruth had literally just walked through front door- hadn't even taken off her shoes or even stepped onto the rug in the foyer before she asked that.
She was still holding her backpack, lunch box, nap time blanket and stuffed animal, but she had been asking about them since I'd picked her up from school.
She loved spending time with them. In fact, a few weeks before, I had gone back to New York to work on a transfer at the hospital and Ruth was set on staying with Stevie and Lindsey, she begged me to leave her behind.
So I went by myself, packed up some of our things and shipped them back out West. And while I sat alone in that penthouse that I had dreamt of when we first got to New York, I decided that one day I'd sell it... One day when my life out East seemed like it was just a stepping stone in life, when I couldn't remember the magic of the family I had started and the life I had created there- I would bid it a farewell.
But until then, I promised myself that I'd keep it... When I needed a place that felt old and familiar, I could go there.
Anyway, I had figured it all out by then. I was planning to stay with my parents until I got my feet back on the ground. I had a job interview, Ruth was enrolled in the first grade and my parents loved it... they really did and I'm not just saying to make myself feel better about being back home at almost thirty.
I could read the room pretty well, honestly.
Chuckling softly, I shook my head. "Probably enjoying their quiet house for once." I teased, which caused her to giggle in return.
