Begin Again

Chapter 12

                 

Clark didn't know why Leah had left the address of his own house for him or how she even knew about it but he made his way there regardless. He didn't know what he would find there, if anything at all. Maybe Leah just wanted him to know that she knows about the house. The house that he had been planning to take her to as soon as he got back from San Francisco. The house that he had spent the last two years building for her, with the smallest hope in his heart that she still loved him enough to come back to him. The divorce papers felt like a heavy weight in his pocket. A reminder that those plans were dust now.

He might as well sell the house. He certainly wasn't going to live in it now.

Clark pulled into the driveway and walked up the front porch. The lights were on outside but that wasn't odd, he had hired a caretaker to look in on the house and turn the lights on and off, giving the illusion that the house was already being lived in.

He turned on the lights in the foyer and saw something that the caretaker definitely wasn't responsible for. His first thought was that some kids might have found a way to trespass inside but the house looked as pristine as it ever did. The only thing out of the ordinary was the masking tape all over the floor.

Clark walked into the living room. There was a long rectangle of tape on the floor. In the middle of it was a piece of paper that said 'Couch.' He picked it up but that's all that was written on it. In front of the 'couch' was a smaller rectangle that said 'Coffee Table.' On the wall was another rectangle that said 'TV.'

Clark went into the kitchen next where there was a circle with 'Dining Table' written in the middle. On the stove was a pot and when Clark looked inside, there was adobo inside, a smiley face looking up at him.

His heart started beating faster. Leah was here. This was her.

He climbed up the stairs, passing by all of the tape that described what object would be there in its place.

When he reached the second floor, the doors of all of the bedrooms were closed. Each one had a paper taped to it. 'Jordan' was written on the first door that Clark passed. 'Jenny' was on the next. 'Baby #1' was on the next one and Clark was finding it difficult to breathe. The fourth door said 'Baby #2' and finally he was at the master bedroom. It read 'Hubby and Wifey.'

Clark's palms were sweating. He didn't know what he would find on the other side of the door but he was excited now, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest.

When he opened the door the first thing he noticed was that it was darker inside than in the hallway where the overhead lights were on. The only light in here came from a small lampshade in the corner of the room and candles placed around the room, caged in glass. Soft music was playing, the refrain of 'On the Wings of Love' on the piano meeting his ears.

He turned around, searching in the darkness. "Leah?"

When his eyes adjusted he saw a mattress on the floor, already decorated like a bed with sheets and pillows but it had no frame. In front of the bed was the familiar wooden box with Sa 'Yo Lang Ako inscribed on top. Propped against the box was a small card that said 'Open Me.'

Clark kneeled down and opened the lid of the box. Inside of it were their wedding rings lying on top of a small silk pillow.

The bathroom door behind him opened and Clark turned around. Leah was standing there, smiling at him.

"What is all this?" He asked.

She walked towards him. "Noong nakita ko 'yung divorce papers, nagalit ako...nasaktan. Hindi ko alam kung bakit ka nag-file-"