Meet Me In The Hallway

Staycation

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It was not going well.

I'd been on the bathroom floor for hours with some serious food poisoning trying to puke quietly and that was the least of my worries. It had started when we arrived at my parents house, after a hellacious day of delays and sniping at each other in an uncharacteristic way.

"How could you have forgotten your ring?" Milo rose his voice on the plane and my hide chafed at being chastised so publicly. But I didn't have an answer for him.

"I don't know, I just did in all of the nerves about the trip, Milo. Please, I didn't do it on purpose. Lower your voice." I ended in a low tone.

His jaw squared and I could tell he was still extremely irritated. "If you would just wear it all the time, this wouldn't be a problem. Now, how am I supposed to show your dad I'm going to make an honest woman of you soon? Hm? So he will believe it?"

He was trying to joke by the end of his question run, but he had wandered into fighting words for me. He never mentioned my mom when he talked about my parents approval, only my father's blessings were specifically mentioned, and the honest woman thing irritated me to no end. I was already irritated and nervous.

Mostly with myself. That was how I had come to leave my ring in the first place.

That night where the Melly of yesteryear tried to take over, I'd stared down at my hands and wound up rocking on the bathroom floor for hours. Like I was now, but two weeks ago, it had been with anxiety and life changing decisions. But I'd finally gotten myself together and put away that peace ring. But, I'd not been able to bring myself to put on the diamond solitaire either. So they had shared the little velvet box.

Honestly the little cube felt like it was a prison cell I was supposed to walk into. I'd taken to leaving my things out on the bathroom counters so I didn't have to see the flocked boogie man of my indecision whenever I needed to take my birth control or floss my teeth.

"Melody, why is all this junk on the sink?" Milo's voice was dragging like a tarp off a beat up pick up.

"Um, I guess I forgot to put it away this morning?" I squished my face up at the lie.

"No, Corazon, it's been on the counter for days!" He sounded closer and I tried to school my face to look less guilty. Milo liked the bathroom pin tidy. It was one of our frictions when we moved in together. I was a spread out kinda mess in the bathroom alone. My closet was tidy and my floor pristine, but the bathroom was where my mess lived. The only other person I had shared space with didn't mind. I think because it gave him the chance to play in my creams and things. I'll never forget the day he caught me putting on his cologne in the morning.

He'd leaned against the door jam, his eyes crinkling at the sides and the crevasses in his cheeks denting his cheeks in, "I do that?"

"What do you do?" I'd put the cap on and placed it on the counter to let my blush calm down before I looked up at him.

"This." He picked up my perfume. "When im gonna be away from you all day," he sprayed it closely into his right wrist. "Then, whenever I push my hair back," he did the maneuver. "I get to smell you!" His lips split up like a Lewis Carol cat done by Disney. "And since 'I look sexy when I push my hair back'" he shrugged at me and leaned in to kiss me quick.

"Alright, Regina!" I laughed at his back and he threw me a wink over his shoulder.

"Melody!" Sounded and I realized I was in my bathroom in Singapore, not a hotel room in Portugal.

"Huh?" I looked up from where I was gathering product off the slim white ring of the sink to shove into a toiletry bag.

"My love," uh oh English. "What is wrong with you? It's like you are half here?"

He was right, I was half here and halfway on a world tour with an old love in my head. I bit my lip and tried to conjure up the words to say so, that maybe we should cash in our travel insurance and just call it a day. But as far as Milo knew, things were fine, the same. I had been wading waist deep in my past while wearing my running suit for the better part of two weeks, but for him, I had simply gone on a business trip, like any other. And this one would have been like those before, except Harry.

"I..." I looked down?. "I, um."

"Corazon," his voice had softened and I looked up into his beautiful blue eyes and squared face and saw our last 18 months of delight and devotion. He smiled at me and cupped my jaw. I had to crane my neck at his proximity and I loved his size. "Are you that nervous, Melody? It will be great. Mama will love you so. And I will impress your father!" He put his face to my level and was so earnest I let my angst wash away in the flood of his presence.

"Ok, ok. I'll get it together. It will all be ok?" I opened my eyes and looked into his.

"I will all go very well." He hugged me into him and my face found the notch in his chest where my cheek fit perfectly.