Whispers

Always there
Filling the silence
Between the two
In the spaces
In the gaps between them
'Hold my hand'
She cries
But he can't hear her hidden words.
His hands stay in his pockets.
His mind whispers
'Kiss me
Like you mean it'
'I'm broken'
Is her reply
'I'm scared'
Is his.
'How can we continue?'
She wonders
'Hold me'
'Hold me.'
She turns,
faces him
and he's there in an instant
heading towards her.
His arms embrace
and she smiles,
because somehow
he heard.

Morning

He stares at her hair on the pillow.
At her eyelashes resting on her cheeks.
The gray sunlight kissing her short nose.
He eases himself from the bed.
Walks to the door.
And into the kitchen.
He turns on the radio on the kitchen counter.
Dancing to the music while he cooks.
He flips the eggs.
He's smiling.
He remembers the night before,
Her smile.
His hands on her waist.
'I'll make you dinner if you'll make me breakfast.'
He remembers his nod.
And he smiles.
Turns off the oven
And walks back to the bedroom.
He holds a tray:
Scrambled eggs.
Waffles and sausages.
Two mugs of Irish Breakfast.
He sets it all down on the desk and he sits on the bed.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
He kisses her nose.
And then her rosy cheeks.
He kisses her eyelids and buries his nose in her hair.
She opens her eyes and flashes a smile.
Lazy, almost feline she stretches.
Sits up in bed.
Yawns.
'Morning.'
He could wake up to this every day.
He hands her a mug of tea
And she smiles again.
' 'Morning.'

Castle

She stumbles through the door
'Anybody home?'
Home
home
home
home...
'I guess not.' he grins 'Let's go exploring.'
Hand in hand they travel the halls.
He becomes a prince, she a fair damsel.
They are running from the evil dragon.
'Close your eyes.' he says 'I'll rescue you.'
She believes him, and they run.
Scampering over stone.
She becomes a queen, dressed in jewel adorned robes,
He a stable boy awed by her beauty.
'Close your eyes.' she says 'Do not be afraid of me.'
He listens to her, and they run
Running on to the next room, climbing the steps of the tower
Panting and laughing they stare out the window at the sunset.
She becomes a hermit mechanic, he her trusty aide.
They play at building time machines,
Just to capture the moment in which they are happy
Running free through the castle and imagining themselves
At other times and other places
Somehow they are sure, they would still be in love
And their hearts beat
As steady as the earth is turning
And they run through the castle, racing each other out the door
Into the sunset.

Quotes

Laughter.
the wind blows through her hair, whips her skirt into the wind
She runs along behind the kite.
'You coming?'
He laughs
Chases her chasing the kite
Smiling.
'Kiss me Kate.' he's quoting Shakespeare.
She knows it.
A day at the park.
A kite.
Happy laughter.
And both of them there.
Nothing could be better.
The grass grows tall
And whispers in the wind.
'I love you, Lucy.' Fifties TV shows.
'Oh come on Shroder, you only love your piano.' Wrong show.
She knows it.
She's just teasing.
And she's remembering this morning.
The phone call.
Stumbling to answer.
'Let's go fly a kite.'
(Mary Poppins)
A picnic lunch.
A day at the park.
Throwing quotes back and forth ever since his phone call woke her up.

Sandwiches

'Good morning' she says. 'sleep well?' a question.
He blinks the sleep from his eyes, nodding.
White underwear lies on the floor, flung there last night in the consummation rituals.
Last night.
Last night they danced until midnight.
Last night they were so tired they didn't think they'd be able to stay awake any longer.
But it was worth it, staying awake like that.
Very worth it.
He remembers it all.
The white dress.
The ceremony.
The dancing.
The longing to just run away from everyone with her and find a nice, dark corner somewhere.
It was worth the wait.
Worth the wait.
She remembers it too.
The white dress.
The reception.
The friends hugging her goodbye.
The airplane ride.
The hotel room.
And now- waking up.
'I have to say it sometime darling' he says, 'make me a sandwich, I'm starving.'
And now she's mad.
Seething.
'a SANDWICH?'
very mad.
This marriage is not going to last.
Or so it seems.
But then she continues.
'We're in Paris and all you can think to ask for is a sandwich? I knew I shouldn't have married an American.'
Definitely not going to last.
Or so it seems.
But then she smiles.
Flings the curtains wide.
And staring out the window, says:
'Get your clothes on.'
She's already dressed.
Turns.
Sits down on the bed.
Kisses him.
'We're going to go look for some real food.'
She waits for him to get dressed.
Pulls him out of the room.
Down the stairs.
And into the bright, French daylight.