Lover in the Window

When the May Apples Bloom

"In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony."

–Friedrich Nietzsche

The most beautiful song ever written, Eli imagines as he pauses in the threshold of the kitchen where his wife is clanking around in the pantry. Sharing an intimate space with another person changing everything. It's lovely.

"What are you looking at?" Raven shouts. "I'm hungry."

Eli starts laughing and continues up to her, he smacks her on the ass, and bends down to kiss her round stomach. "Fuck you, hormones! Not Raven, hormones! It's a boy, buy some blue shit."

Raven laughs as she chomps on a carrot like a horse. "You're immature. Grow up," she left the room for a moment but quickly came back to grab the bowl of salad on the dining room table. She tosses Eli an (eat shit look with a wink), before kicking up her feet to the local news. Raven has on some loose shorts, and an old faded tye-dye. She lays herself back, but still has a little trouble seeing over the dome of her belly. She chomps on carrots, cucumbers, and broccoli. Today is just another day in June, and all of Oak Grove is steadily fighting off the seasonal heat wave.

"Can you believe we are already in the sixth month of 2021?" Eli shakes his head in disbelief. "It's funny because I remember thinking the same thing when it became 2020."

Raven continues eating her salad, and half focuses on Eli when she isn't looking at the TV. "Yeah. Can you believe we've been married for the same amount of time, exactly?" She laughs, "Now you can't forget our anniversary."

"I would never forget that anyway."

"Sure, sure." Raven japes. She looks down at her stomach where the baby rolls and twitches underneath her skin. "Look!"

Eli places his hand flat on her stomach and begins rubbing her. "I can't believe we are about to be parents. That's my biggest disbelief right now. In a single year we went from being nearly strangers that hadn't seen each other in eleven long years to becoming man and wife, with child. We have our own house, you have your own business, and my little sister and Luke are having a baby too. I'm a boyfriend, husband, step-dad, father, and uncle all in one go."

Raven giggles and swept her hair around, "Don't forget the most important thing of all."

"What's that?" Eli remarks curiously as he kicks his feet up next to hers.

"Your family is complete." Raven smacks him on the arm. "Rory and you have come to a fair conclusion. Nobody is perfect in life but you don't know how impacting those good decisions are on the future. I know I only met Tracy a hand full of times but she would definitively be proud of you. Forgiveness is the hardest thing to do."

Eli relinquishes his smile in favor of a more humbling frown as he looks at the floor. "Sometimes I think she knew about us. She knew how much we cared. She also knew that I would have stayed at all cost for you, and that's why we had to takeoff. That's why we didn't get a proper goodbye."

"I wouldn't think that. But if that is true, she knew we would find our way." Raven grins.

"When we played in the street, she would sit outside and watch us. You remember that? She would laugh and wave at us. Believe me, Rave, mom knew who you were. She would be the proudest of you."

With that Raven has a glowing smile about her for the rest of the evening. It isn't the most eventful evening as far as leisurely activities are concerned. But that's exactly how Mr. & Mrs. Layton would have it. Some good conversation, all twisted together with their socks off, watching reruns of Maverick on Direct TV. The clock on the wall ticks away as Eli eventually falls asleep, Raven soon after, but the stillness didn't last long before Luke came knocking on the door. "Who is it?" Raven chimes while she raises a hand to wipe the sleep from her eyes.