"The Storm Before The Calm".
They crashed through the door as they had the
night before, though this time she entered first.
He grabbed towels from the cupboard by the door,
throwing one of them to her and heading toward the kitchen counter.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” He moaned as he looked at the remains of the kettle in
the sink. He reached for one of the saucepans that hung from hooks on the wall, rubbing his backside and smiling as he recalled the events that had lead to the
destruction of the kettle.
She sipped the hot, sweet tea that he presented her with and went to shower
as he folded and knotted paper “bunnies” to get the fire started, placing them
into the log burner and adding scraps of cardboard and the splintered remains
of a wooden tray that had once held carrots on a supermarket shelf before
topping the pyre off with a log from the basket that sat by the wall and
striking a match.
“Oh lovely.” She said as she rejoined him, still
wet, naked and toweling her hair. He smiled at her as she approached, drinking
in every curve and freckle, committing them to memory in preparation for
the time that would come after she jetted off again. His smile faltered for the briefest of moments as
the realisation of her impending departure crossed his mind.
“Ouch!” He yelped as the little orange flame
finally burnt his fingertips. She knelt beside him and took his hand, kissing
his fingers gently.
Another match struck, he touched the flame to the
paper, slid open the vent and closed the glass screen door. Sitting on the soft
rug, shoulder to shoulder, they watched silently as the flames began to spread.
She began to snore softly and he smiled.
Carefully, he laid her down in front of the now roaring fire then went to fetch
a coat from his wardrobe, placing it over her and kissing her cheek.
He showered slowly as she slept and he mentally
replayed the events of the last thirty-six hours.
When he eventually returned to the room in which
he’d left her he found she’d awoken and climbed into the bed. Still snoring softly
she lay, curled almost into a ball, beneath the crumpled bed sheet that he had
intended to change. He climbed in behind her, laying his chest against her back
and curling his own knees up to meet the back of hers, kissed her one last time
and slept.
Continue to chapter ten.
No comments:
Post a Comment