Saint Patrick's Day

There's a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow, dear

Ellen glanced at her watch again, growing impatient as she waited for Sienna's class to be let inside the building.

"Momma, why do you not have gold from rainbows if you're Irish?" The four year old asked, swinging their hands together. Ellen ruffled Sienna's bouncing brown curls, smiling down at her.

"I was never picked as a leprechaun! Leprechauns are specially picked to get the gold," She playfully replied, crouching down to Sienna's size. Quickly Ellen reached out, tickling her before pulling her youngest daughter into a big hug. Stella was already in school, having came earlier. Sienna's class reverse started but ended at the same time Stella's did. "Love you Sienna May, okay?" Ellen asked, grinning. Sienna looked down, then pulled her head back, laughing at Ellen's face, a mimic of her own.

"Love you too mommy, happy Saint Patrick's day!" She said, following the other children as they rushed inside the building. Ellen waved, then headed out to her car. It was bittersweet, Sienna had taken cue from Stella and started to leave her after the gate opens. She didn't mind as long as she didn't wander off while they waited. She looked down at her brown watch again, seeing that only a few minutes had passed. Damnit. Ellen did not want to go home. Not to mention her family deciding to Skype call every moment of Saint Patrick's. It was always a 'Ellie this' or 'wow Ellie this' 'too short,'- annoying constant chatter that reminded her why she moved away.

She pulled up to her driveway, parking. The fences had been decorated with green garland, and cute Saint Patrick's day decorations filled the yards. Ellen went inside, making a beeline to the kitchen. The last person she wanted to see was Chris, who laid on the couch watching basketball today. March madness was aptly named in their household, Chris was rather on the touchy side after staying up watching games and making sure his bet pool was correctly tallied. Ellen understood and sometimes sat with him but this morning was again, touchy. She sighed, setting her purse on their island counter, checking the clock again. Her phone buzzed with a FaceTime, she assumed it was her sister Maureen so she answered without looking at caller id.

"Hi." Ellen answered, giving a soft smile. The screen opened and gentle blue eyes stared back at her, followed by a frame full of dark hair.

"Oh shit. Sorry. I meant to call Paul," Patrick's hand went to his forehead, his phone getting blurry as he moved, embarrassed. Ellen stared at her screen in shock, not believing her eyes.

"Pa-Patrick- don't hang up. Please." She whispered, emotion flooding through her face. It had been almost a year. Ellen gulped, walking out of her kitchen to their backyard deck, sitting in the sun. Patrick frowned, watching her green eyes flicker. Their last conversation rose in the back of his throat.

"Ellen. I really need to talk to Paul-" he started to say, then stopped. Paul could wait, but the sad look on Ellen's face could not. You're not her boyfriend Patrick. Not anymore.

"I sent you so many messages, texts, i even sent you a damn letter-" Ellen chewed him out, annoyed. Patrick sighed,

"Which Jill got by the way. That letter. And yes, she read it. She knows everything. So if you thought our last words were awful, you have no idea how badly I wanted to storm down the street to yell at you." He cut her off, licking his lips, his tone one of annoyance. Ellen hung her head, embarrassed.

"The house isn't mine anymore. You know that. We moved to a better neighborhood. Okay. The letter was bad. But it's sealed mail, for you only. So she broke a law, patty-" she covered her mouth with a hand, blushed. Patty. Why did they naturally fall back into place? This wasn't right. He was supposed to hate her guts. 

"Meet me at the spot. In an hour. I have to go. Bye Ellie." Patrick hung up, after taking one last glance at Ellen, how refreshing it was to see her so happy and radiant.

Ellen sat in her chair, setting the phone on the table, pulling her knees to her chest. The spot. Well the spot was beautiful. A little ways off set, they'd drive up and make out during the early seasons. And maybe have sex. She smiled to herself, thinking of the good times. Ellen looked over past the table, seeing four leave clover drawings covering the sidewalk. She waved at them, wishing herself luck as she agreed on that lunch with Patrick.