In This Life (Sequel to 'In Another Life')

124

"Have you ever been inside?" he asked, when we walked up onto the porch. I shook my head. "No. I didn't think the owners would appreciate it very much. I got caught here once, sitting on the porch swing reading. I thought I was in big trouble, but they were really nice about it. Said they didn't mind, as long as I didn't damage the property." He bent down and picked up the little potted plant that was off to the side of the door. "What are you doing?" I asked, my brow creased in confusion. He turned it upside down before I could say don't do it. I expected the plant to just fall out of the little pot it was in but it didn't. He opened a little compartment that was on the bottom of the plant and pulled out a small silver key. "What?" I asked, still so very confused. "I don't think they'll mind if we take a little look inside," he said, grinning that beautiful smile of his. "But how?" I said, still stuck on the fact that he knew where the key even was. "Mrs. Gail told me who the owners were. I called them while you were in the shower, and told them how much this place means to you. They remembered you, and told me where the key was if we wanted to look inside." I just stared at him in amazement. He kind of laughed, then turned to slide the key into the old door knob. It turned easily, and Colby pushed open the door. I felt like this was some kind of life changing event for me. The home that had once been my safe place, was now open to me. I had never seen the inside of this house, besides when I would peer into the windows. It didn't allow me to see much though, because there were dark curtains on most of them. He reached back and took my hand, pulling me inside with him, and closing the door behind us. "Oh wooww," I breathed out, staring up at the massive winding stair case in front of me, that led to the second floor. The paint on it was still a shiny black, even though it was peeling in some places. A chandelier hung from the high ceiling above my head, some of the crystals swinging from the wind of door being opened. "This is amazing," Colby said quietly. I nodded my agreement, and barely noticed when he dropped my hand. Instead, my attention was on the intricacy of the designs that were embedded into the wood of the staircase railing, and the art that was still hanging on the walls. A thick layer of dust was on everything, but it did nothing to hide how beautiful this home was. I laughed out loud and spun around, unable to believe that I was actually getting the chance to look inside this house. It was something that I had always wanted to do. "I'm happy you're happy. You deserve a little happiness after everything," Colby said, standing in the doorway to the the side room. I rushed up to him and threw my arms around his neck. He picked me up, his arms around my waist, and spun around. I laughed, then pressed my lips to his. "Is it what you imagined it would be?" he asked, setting me back down on my feet. I shook my head. "No. It's so much more than I could have ever imagined. Thank you for this," I said, kissing him again. "I feel like I'm a kid again. Coming here, it just brought me peace. I would get lost in the world or whatever book I was reading, or imagine what it was like to live here way back then. Ride in horse drawn carriages, and have the man of my dreams court me." I laughed, and shook my head. "Silly dreams of a little girl. The world was so small to me then. There was nothing outside of this little town." "I don't think your dreams were silly. Dreams are always important, realistic or not. They show you what you really want. That's what you wanted when you were little. They brought you happiness," he said, smiling down at me. "Ugh, I love you so much Colby," I said, burying my head in the crook of his neck, hugging him. "I love you too T. Always." My heart aches with love for him, as the tears stung my eyes with how happy I was in this moment. I know that it may seem stupid to others but this house was a big part of my childhood, and I was so happy that Colby seemed to understand just how important it was to me. "You want to look around?" he asked, letting me go, but taking my hand. I nodded, and wiped the silly tears from my eyes. He smiled at me softly, but didn't mention the tears thankfully. We walked from large room to larger room, and I marveled at the stained glass artwork that was hanging on the wall of what I assumed to be the living room. The hardwood floors were scuffed, but I could close my eyes and see exactly how it was meant to look. There were even a few old pieces of furniture left behind by the owners. I didn't understand why the house had been left empty all of these years, but I was kind of glad that it was. That meant that I got to enjoy it. In the middle of the kitchen, an old potbelly stove sat in the middle of the spacious area. "Wow," I mused, running my fingers over it. "That really makes you think about how old this place really is. They've kept it up so well though." "Yeah, they said that when their grandmother died, they couldn't see staying here, but they couldn't bear to see it in shambles. So they pay people to come keep it up, like making sure the yard doesn't grow up, and keeping the wood treated so that it doesn't rot. They've take really good care of it over all these years. Some of the wood did have to be replaced, but they said they've kept as much of the original house as they could." How did he know so much about this?