SYNCHRONICITY (Dream Walker) 🖋

Family

Sebastian woke with a start realizing that she'd already risen and dressed for the day. He slipped out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. When he opened the door, Alison was waiting for him with a cup of coffee and held it up in the air so that it was in his face. She was grinning.

"Good morning," he whispered sleepily.

"Good afternoon, you mean?"

"Afternoon? Really?"

She nodded and pointed toward the windows. "Almost. It's lunchtime, put it that way."

"Oh shite," he said taking the hot cup from her hand. "I saw the time, it just...didn't register in my brain."

"Sebastian, when is the last you were on hol?"

"I'm on hol now," he replied happily. He followed her back into the room, noting that her hair was pulled up in a messy updo and remembering his thoughts from the previous evening, he told her his thoughts...all of them as she sat on the bed, her legs folded in that impossibly pretzely-yoga pose of hers, waiting patiently for him to let out all that had been troubling him.

Finally she smiled and rose from her spot and circled her arms around his neck. "In case you've forgotten, I'll remind you again. I stopped being angry with you a long time ago, Sebastian. You were forgiven ages ago. Please understand that, okay?"

He nodded and nearly wept with relief. She held on to him tightly. That this massive bear of a man could cry at the drop of a hat never ceased to amaze her.

Sebastian pulled away, still torn between relief and embarrassment. He admitted to her that he'd wanted to tell her everything the very minute he heard her voice on the phone the day she first arrived at the house.

She released his neck and kissed him quickly. "Oh and by the way, you're just taking time off of work. This isn't a holiday..."

He looked up. "No?"

She shook her head. "No. How long?"

She watched him struggle to come up with anything specific and he finally shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably, very much like a child who was unable to come up with a good excuse.

"One year? Two? Five..."

He looked away. "More like twelve. By your definition at any rate."

She cradled his face in her hands. "Well no wonder! You're burned out, Sebastian..."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I want to do that yard sale you mentioned," he said abruptly.

She lowered her hands and nodded.

"So If you would kindly go downstairs pick out what you want to hang on to, you know, stuff that you like and think will go with your things, we can get it all out of here and make room for your furniture and what not..."

She glanced toward him and he watched her expression change drastically when she realized what he didn't come right out and say...his brows rose high and he smiled his wolfy grin at her.

"You mean, you want to live here? In the open?"

"As long as we're together, I really think we'll be okay. The other house can be the safe house...it's location is strategically better for that purpose anyway."

She nodded, but there was still something in her eyes that seemed to upset her about moving in...

He reached out and touched her cheek with his fingers. "Talk to me?"