Where
the Heart Is
Part
II
It was
full pitch when Sav woke up still sitting at the kitchen table; face down on
wet newsprint likely wearing the headline across her cheek or forehead. She had been dreaming that she was in London
and had found Baden at a pub with friends, walking up behind him ‘Buy me a
drink?’ she’d whispered, smiling long and deep when he turned to scoop her up
and continue the celebration with her muttering goodbyes to the company and
finding a quiet spot in the corner. The
phone was blinking a message she knew without checking was surely Baden calling
for her turn to start the festivities. With
her resistance to leave him in her dreams, she had missed it. The lingering headache she had, a surefire
reminder that she’d been crying, she resisted the urge to dial him up not sure
of the hour in London.
Fumbling
her way to the bathroom not bothering to check the mirror, she knew she needed
hot water and soap, STAT. She washed
quickly, drying off and brushing her teeth at the same time before knotting her
hair up out of respect for the open flames of the ceremony and moving into the
spare room to dress. She noted the table
clock and the hour, grabbed her phone, texting instead of calling due the hour...
I dozed off. Starting late. Wish you were here to light the log with me. Thinking of you. Blessed Yule. ~Sav
I dozed off. Starting late. Wish you were here to light the log with me. Thinking of you. Blessed Yule. ~Sav
She was
startled by the pingback several short moments later…
I
wish you’d been here too. Anywhere, just
together. Blessed Yule. ~B
Sighing,
she finished her preparations and headed out to the small grove behind the
house with her arms full of things for the celebration and ceremony. The night was quiet and remarkably
still. Not a cricket chirped as she
wound along the path to the small clearing.
Rounding the last bend she knew why as she saw the ring of candles
already lit with Baden standing in the center.
Dropping everything she ran to him, belatedly realizing she’d caught her
hem on a candle flame as they patted the fabric out with their hands.
Taking
care to put out the candle flames one by one before they returned to the house
so she could change, she was flying.
Changed in a less festive gown but appropriate to the night and the
season, they stopped at the small hearth and lit the waiting Yule log together
arm in arm. They watched the bark catch
and the flames roar to life before they set the screens and headed back out to
the grove. Relighting the ring of
candles carefully before they began it was a perfect moment. The night seemed to stand still as they, arm
in arm went through their rituals and concluded with the ribbon of gold silk
that they used every year to recommit to their handfasting and renew their
commitments for the next year to come, together.
The
earlier fallacy of a ritual by the phone, for him, had been a disappointment
and a total ruse, but also all he needed to realize and remember that if it is
within ones power, one should never be apart on the holy days. Hindsight was always 20/20. He had probably killed the budget for the
next several months to get a last minute seat on the red-eye west, but seeing
Sav in his arms dancing amid the candlelight with the word ‘Heisman’ faintly
smudged on her cheek, he was right where he needed to be.
Abyrne can be found here as one of our feature authors, and at:
http://abyrnemostyn.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/messages/100002546219235#!/AbyrneMostynWordEnthusiast
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