"Jenn, honey, is there anything I can do for you before I leave?" Dawn asked the grieving daughter wholeheartedly, as she sat down beside her, and placed an arm on her shoulder. It had been such a long and devastating monday morning when they buried Dianne. The rain poured down and the wind blew softly, and loved ones gathered to mourn the loss of a great woman. Everyone was taking the ordeal badly, but none more than Jenn, who'd just lost her loving mom.
"No. You can't bring her back, that's the only thing that could possibly make me better right now," she replied, as she gazed in deep through bloodshot eyes and a beat red face.
"It will be okay" Dawn whispered, as tears formed in her eyes once more, and she leaned over to kiss Jenn's forehead lovingly "I'll come back tomorrow to see how you are. Please just try to get a good night’s sleep."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Need a ride?"
A familiar voice called just as Dawn pulled the hood of her jacket over her head to shield the rain. She looked up to see Richard sitting in his car, his eyes looked so heavy and red from crying, she'd never realized just how much Dianne meant to both of them. Just another bond in their already tangled relationship. As much as she fought to say no, she couldn't resist his offer. The tension between them was thick as of late, but it just seemed that today, they needed to be together. Might it have been for comfort, consoling, or just a chance to be close, she didn't want to give up the opportunity. Nodding her head, and smiling, she walked swiftly over to the passenger side, and sat down, turning to thank him, their eyes met for a gaze that seemed to last forever, until finally, Richard spoke.
"Where do we go from here?"
"Home" Dawn said as she let out an uneasy chuckle, and then began to twiddle her thumbs as a distraction. Seeing her obvious avoidance, Richard took the initiative, and placed his hand under her chin, bringing her face to meet his own once more, as a chill ran up her spine, and tears formed in her eyes.
"That's not what I mean, and you know it..."
Dawn looked out the window, rain pouring from the heavens. Lightning striked in the distance as thunder boomed forcefully from above. She watched as the rain streaked down the windows creating water rings. "Please now is not the time...I want to be with you right now, I *need* to be with you right now...no one knows how much Dianne meant to me...that is except for you but please..."
Richard held up his right hand as he still kept his left firmly on the steering wheel. "I know, don't worry about it. So where do you want to go? Our options are somewhat limited considering the rain but..."
"The beach," Dawn said softly, turning back to the window.
"Dawn, there's a torrential downpour out there, we can't just sit out on the beach and..."
"Please," she said turning to him, tears streaming from her eyes. "When Dianne brought me here, I was so lonely then. I was alone, Dianne had to run an errand...I didn't know where anything was, so I just took my car and I started to drive...I guess I drove too far and didn’t know which road will I take to come back to the house. When I was trying to find my way back, I came across the beach and I was just mesmerized. It was about 6 and the sun was setting... these amazing colors of orange, purple, red... they all were mixed into one color, I just sat out there for hours, feeling as the waves crashed onto my feet and it felt good. It was so peaceful and from then on, I knew if I ever needed comfort all I had to do was go there and I'd be at ease. I know it's raining but I really need to find that peace right now..."
Richard smiled and stroked her hair with his free hand, keeping his eyes focused on the road. "the beach it is," he replied turning the car around.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Richard and Dawn sat silently on the wet sand, rain pouring heavily onto both of them. The waves crashed against the already moist shore, splashing the tips of their feet. Richard wanted to speak... wanted to tell her he'd be there for her when she needed it, that he'd be there to hold her and comfort her when she cried but she looked so peaceful. Her head sat between her legs, her breathing even, matching the rhythmic sounds of the rain. He placed his hand over her back, rubbing it softly, trying to sooth her. She looked up, her cheeks streaked with black mascara, her eyes, red and puffy. She looked him in the eyes, her eyes shimmering with tears.
"You can leave if you want...I'd understand..."
"Sweetie, I'm not going to believe you...listen I know we've had our problems but you're still my friend so do you want to talk about it?"
"I don't know what I feel," she replied turning to him. "I mean Dianne seemed so healthy and then all of a sudden one day she is just gone! It scares me that one day, you can have everything and the next it can all be gone...Richard, I need to tell you something. I mean all of this has made me realize a lot... like you shouldn't deny anything because you never know what is right around the corner. After knowing that Dianne died, I only wanted one person to hold me in his arms...and that person wasn't Martin...it was you. God, I am falling into a web which I hate...I suddenly lost all control of my life but one thing I will always remember my mother telling me is that when you're in love, when you found the man you were meant to spend eternity with, you have no control...you just have love. And that is what I have...I love you, I know now I always will," Dawn whispered, tears falling from her eyes.
"I love you too, and I'm not letting you go this time," he said, moving his lips to hers, as they met in a soft kiss.
