Chapter 25 -- From the Heights to the Depths
It's time to close your eyes now,
begin your fantasy - what does it mean?
Wake your dreams (commence now...)into reality.
Your fears are never wrong or right
Everything is neither black nor white.
In a Winter's Dream - I'll be there for you
Symphony X - A Winter's Dream-Prelude (with one small tamper on the Author's part, sorry members of the band, but I think you meant something other than what you wrote, unless the contradiction was intentional in an artsy way or something...)
Chapter 25 -- From the Heights to the Depths
Mara cursed under her breath as she chased the squirrel around her attic. The little rodent had found a hole under the eaves of her attic and had weaseled it's way in. She was currently trying to trap the animal so she could let it free outside.
Spring had arrived at Pittsville at long last. Mara would have preferred for it to be the dead of winter, but the seasons didn't await her whims.
Rafe had survived his most recent wound and was to the best of her knowledge still recovering either in University of Chicago hospital where the ambulance had taken him, or at his apartment. Or even at the Kuntzlers. Who knew. Who cared.
Mara swore again as she felt the familiar ache of grief building in her chest. She stuffed it down, the squirrel came first and then she could settle in for a nice, comfortable cry. Much to her own disgust.
She looked at the attic windows as the bushy-tailed animal scolded her as it frantically ran back and forth in the attic. "Yeah, I know how you feel, buddy," she said as she watched the animal's fear as it looked for a way out.
"I just hope you don't find those either of those two holes in the floor and disappear into the crawlspace. I really would rather not smell d-dead s-s-quirrel all summer. Aw, shit." She took a deep shuddering breath to pull herself together. "Squirrel now, moping later, squirrel now, moping later," she chanted under her breath as she walked towards the set of windows at the side of the house.
"How about if I open the windows and you figure your own way out, okay?" She pulled the windows at the side of the house open. "Does that sound like a plan?" She walked to the front of the house and knelt to open the small set of windows.
Before she could do that, she noticed that Grove's familiar pickup was parked out front. At the same time the front doorbell rang. She heaved the windows open and shouted down "Hi, Grove, I'll be there in a sec, hang on, I'm up in the attic..."
She trotted down two flights of stairs, somewhat happy that Grove had stopped by for a visit. Maybe he could help her snap out of the bout of crying she felt was going to happen otherwise.
Mara opened the door and gasped in shock. Pale as a ghost, Rafe stood on her front porch.
"Hi," he said.
Mara continued to gape at him as if she were seeing a ghost indeed.
"Um, are you going to ask me in?"
"Oh. Oh, yes, yes, please come in, please...sit down before you fall down, what on earth are you doing here? How on earth did they let you fly? You can't be completely healed. Oh, here, sit on the sofa..."
He lifted two fingers to her mouth to still her babbling. "Mother Hen," he said.
Mara wailed and burst into tears. She plopped down on the sofa next to him and buried her face in her hand, sobbing.
"Hey, hey, I meant that as a compliment, I wasn't trying to insult you. Though I don't blaim you for thinking that the way I treated you at the end in Chicago."
Mara continued to cry.
Rafe reached over and pulled her huddled body closer to him, half sprawling her across his lap. She continued sobbing into his thigh as he rubbed her back in soothing circles. "Mara, sweetheart, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," he murmured.
After a few minutes she stopped crying or at least had slowed down to a hard sniffle and the occasional hiccuping sob. She couldn't believe was here. She couldn't look at him. Maybe if she kept her eyes closed, she could stay in this pleasant dream where Rafe called her sweetheart and rubbed her back.
"Mara, honey." Rafe pulled at her shoulders gently to move her into a more upright position so he could see her face. He handed her a fresh kleenex as she stared at him, her eyes wide open and disbelieving.
"R-rafe," she stuttered and stopped, seemingly incapable of saying anything else. He grabbed another Kleenex, gently wiped her face and kissed her forehead. Putting his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close and simply held her for many long silent minutes. He could feel the aftershocks of her crying bout still quivering through her body.
After a while longer, he broke the silence, "Your friend Mr. Kuntzler seems to think I didn't spend enough time out here recuperating before, so he sent me here. Actually, I came of my own volition and was hoping a friendly landlady would take me in for the duration?"
Mara didn't look at him.
"Please? Your guest bed is so much more comfortable than any hotel bed and... and if I were staying here, we could talk, really talk, about us."
Mara finally looked at him. "Is there an 'us'?"
She watched Rafe closely, saw his eyes brighten with unshed tears. "Oh, Mara, I do hope so. I hope you haven't grown to hate me for being such a bastard to you while I was in the hospital. I really didn't mean to yell at you and call you an interfering nuisance or whatever I said. It had to be a mixture of the stupid part of my brain and the morphine..."
He continued after a moment. "When I thought about what I said later, I was hoping you would still come to visit the next day so I could grovel and apologize. Instead, Kevin informed me that you had...returned to Pittsville and that apparently you couldn't stay any longer. I think he wanted to give me what for, but didn't want to yell at a man while he's down and out in a hospital bed. If you had come by the next day, I could have introduced you to my mother. She came back from her out of town vacation as soon as she heard what had happened, that's why she wasn't there right away."
"Your m-mother?"
"Yes, Giulietta, the Queen Bee herself, and I mean that as in hive, not as in beeyoch. She's really a very pleasant, forceful person, in a kind way. Sort of like you. She's been buzzing around forever, nagging me to settle down..." He trailed off and broke his eye contact with Mara.
"Do you mean that?" she asked.
"Do I mean what?"
"She's been nagging at you to...settle down?"
"Yes, and I thought it was high time myself and had even found the perfect woman."
"Oh. That's great for you Rafe, I hope she's a talented beauty and is good to you," she muttered looking away from him. 'I will not cry again, I will NOT cry,' she told herself.
"But the next thing I knew she had left town..."
"I'm sorry..."
"And had flown all the way back to Pittsville."
"Oh. Y-you mean me?"
"Yes my sweetest mother hen. You burrowed your way into my heart and it looks like you didn't even know you were doing that. I'm sorry for the mixed metaphors, my dear Editor, come here." Pulling her close, he kissed her, this time on the lips, a long, lingering kiss.
When they broke apart for air, Rafe said, "I know we really need to talk before I start making any assumptions, but will you at least give me another chance?"
She tremulously nodded her head, afraid to speak. He pulled her close for another tender kiss, then settled her back with his arm still around her shoulders, enjoying the evening and the warmth of Mara next to him.
The squirrel? It found the windows and fled after a long chattering scold down the stairs, causing the two lovers to burst into laughter, laughter that they could look forward to for the rest of their lives.
The End
begin your fantasy - what does it mean?
Wake your dreams (commence now...)into reality.
Your fears are never wrong or right
Everything is neither black nor white.
In a Winter's Dream - I'll be there for you
Symphony X - A Winter's Dream-Prelude (with one small tamper on the Author's part, sorry members of the band, but I think you meant something other than what you wrote, unless the contradiction was intentional in an artsy way or something...)
Chapter 25 -- From the Heights to the Depths
Mara cursed under her breath as she chased the squirrel around her attic. The little rodent had found a hole under the eaves of her attic and had weaseled it's way in. She was currently trying to trap the animal so she could let it free outside.
Spring had arrived at Pittsville at long last. Mara would have preferred for it to be the dead of winter, but the seasons didn't await her whims.
Rafe had survived his most recent wound and was to the best of her knowledge still recovering either in University of Chicago hospital where the ambulance had taken him, or at his apartment. Or even at the Kuntzlers. Who knew. Who cared.
Mara swore again as she felt the familiar ache of grief building in her chest. She stuffed it down, the squirrel came first and then she could settle in for a nice, comfortable cry. Much to her own disgust.
She looked at the attic windows as the bushy-tailed animal scolded her as it frantically ran back and forth in the attic. "Yeah, I know how you feel, buddy," she said as she watched the animal's fear as it looked for a way out.
"I just hope you don't find those either of those two holes in the floor and disappear into the crawlspace. I really would rather not smell d-dead s-s-quirrel all summer. Aw, shit." She took a deep shuddering breath to pull herself together. "Squirrel now, moping later, squirrel now, moping later," she chanted under her breath as she walked towards the set of windows at the side of the house.
"How about if I open the windows and you figure your own way out, okay?" She pulled the windows at the side of the house open. "Does that sound like a plan?" She walked to the front of the house and knelt to open the small set of windows.
Before she could do that, she noticed that Grove's familiar pickup was parked out front. At the same time the front doorbell rang. She heaved the windows open and shouted down "Hi, Grove, I'll be there in a sec, hang on, I'm up in the attic..."
She trotted down two flights of stairs, somewhat happy that Grove had stopped by for a visit. Maybe he could help her snap out of the bout of crying she felt was going to happen otherwise.
Mara opened the door and gasped in shock. Pale as a ghost, Rafe stood on her front porch.
"Hi," he said.
Mara continued to gape at him as if she were seeing a ghost indeed.
"Um, are you going to ask me in?"
"Oh. Oh, yes, yes, please come in, please...sit down before you fall down, what on earth are you doing here? How on earth did they let you fly? You can't be completely healed. Oh, here, sit on the sofa..."
He lifted two fingers to her mouth to still her babbling. "Mother Hen," he said.
Mara wailed and burst into tears. She plopped down on the sofa next to him and buried her face in her hand, sobbing.
"Hey, hey, I meant that as a compliment, I wasn't trying to insult you. Though I don't blaim you for thinking that the way I treated you at the end in Chicago."
Mara continued to cry.
Rafe reached over and pulled her huddled body closer to him, half sprawling her across his lap. She continued sobbing into his thigh as he rubbed her back in soothing circles. "Mara, sweetheart, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," he murmured.
After a few minutes she stopped crying or at least had slowed down to a hard sniffle and the occasional hiccuping sob. She couldn't believe was here. She couldn't look at him. Maybe if she kept her eyes closed, she could stay in this pleasant dream where Rafe called her sweetheart and rubbed her back.
"Mara, honey." Rafe pulled at her shoulders gently to move her into a more upright position so he could see her face. He handed her a fresh kleenex as she stared at him, her eyes wide open and disbelieving.
"R-rafe," she stuttered and stopped, seemingly incapable of saying anything else. He grabbed another Kleenex, gently wiped her face and kissed her forehead. Putting his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close and simply held her for many long silent minutes. He could feel the aftershocks of her crying bout still quivering through her body.
After a while longer, he broke the silence, "Your friend Mr. Kuntzler seems to think I didn't spend enough time out here recuperating before, so he sent me here. Actually, I came of my own volition and was hoping a friendly landlady would take me in for the duration?"
Mara didn't look at him.
"Please? Your guest bed is so much more comfortable than any hotel bed and... and if I were staying here, we could talk, really talk, about us."
Mara finally looked at him. "Is there an 'us'?"
She watched Rafe closely, saw his eyes brighten with unshed tears. "Oh, Mara, I do hope so. I hope you haven't grown to hate me for being such a bastard to you while I was in the hospital. I really didn't mean to yell at you and call you an interfering nuisance or whatever I said. It had to be a mixture of the stupid part of my brain and the morphine..."
He continued after a moment. "When I thought about what I said later, I was hoping you would still come to visit the next day so I could grovel and apologize. Instead, Kevin informed me that you had...returned to Pittsville and that apparently you couldn't stay any longer. I think he wanted to give me what for, but didn't want to yell at a man while he's down and out in a hospital bed. If you had come by the next day, I could have introduced you to my mother. She came back from her out of town vacation as soon as she heard what had happened, that's why she wasn't there right away."
"Your m-mother?"
"Yes, Giulietta, the Queen Bee herself, and I mean that as in hive, not as in beeyoch. She's really a very pleasant, forceful person, in a kind way. Sort of like you. She's been buzzing around forever, nagging me to settle down..." He trailed off and broke his eye contact with Mara.
"Do you mean that?" she asked.
"Do I mean what?"
"She's been nagging at you to...settle down?"
"Yes, and I thought it was high time myself and had even found the perfect woman."
"Oh. That's great for you Rafe, I hope she's a talented beauty and is good to you," she muttered looking away from him. 'I will not cry again, I will NOT cry,' she told herself.
"But the next thing I knew she had left town..."
"I'm sorry..."
"And had flown all the way back to Pittsville."
"Oh. Y-you mean me?"
"Yes my sweetest mother hen. You burrowed your way into my heart and it looks like you didn't even know you were doing that. I'm sorry for the mixed metaphors, my dear Editor, come here." Pulling her close, he kissed her, this time on the lips, a long, lingering kiss.
When they broke apart for air, Rafe said, "I know we really need to talk before I start making any assumptions, but will you at least give me another chance?"
She tremulously nodded her head, afraid to speak. He pulled her close for another tender kiss, then settled her back with his arm still around her shoulders, enjoying the evening and the warmth of Mara next to him.
The squirrel? It found the windows and fled after a long chattering scold down the stairs, causing the two lovers to burst into laughter, laughter that they could look forward to for the rest of their lives.
posted by Dace @ 2:55 AM
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