 The sun bore down over the mountains that evening, the hint of spring that had yet to take hold of their city finally warming the air that had been so bitter cold for so long. While snow still clung to the tops of the mountains, the higher elevations still desperate for their thawing, the green color their city had been nicknamed for finally was returning to the grass and trees. As Ophelia left the office, her last patient of the day a 6 year old who needed their yearly check up, she couldn’t help but smile as she pushed her sunglasses on her face. She had been texting with Danny throughout the day, flirtatious messages and casual conversation that had filled so much of her dinner hour the past month. They had been good, keeping to their promise of taking things slow, enjoying the feeling of casually dating though the undertones of the seriousness of their venture never seemed far from the surface. Subconsciously, her hand moved to the silver chain where pieces of her emerald and alexandrite sat in small circles evenly spaced. It had been a gift for one reason or another - getting the attending position? It was hard to recall at this point when he had given her each token of his affection, physical reminders of the fact that he thought she deserved the world. It was something she had taken for granted before, her small smattering of suitors having all treated her almost too well. Not that they all showered her with gifts the way Danny had, they were just all good men who had treated her well. She had noticed the differences between the way Matt treated her and Danny treated her though, the small details that had made them different lovers, different boyfriends.
Getting into the black SUV, she opened the sun roof to let the warmth of the day settle into the car. The car smelled like summer, the heat from sitting in the sun all day still settled into the leather interior. It reminded her of southern Italy, of romance and happiness. In a weird way, it reminded her of Danny, of the memories they had shared and the memories they were making. Slipping on a pair of jeans under her dress, pulling off the loose fitting garment in exchange for a white sweater, heels traded for the pair of flats on the passenger seat she touched up her make up in the rear-view mirror before heading down the familiar drive to the house they had had together. From Harborview to the Magnolia neighborhood was only a 20 minute drive when there traffic on the bridge wasn’t horrible. Thankfully things were moving along nicely, the drive to Perkins Lane West only a bit longer than she had planned on. It felt so strange for her to be going back to the house they had together, the multi-million dollar ocean-front home something that weighed heavy in her mind. It had been perfect for them: a 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom sitting on an acre of land that had a small beach out front. It was a large house for just them, but the idea had been to fill the house will children at some point. It had been a large, mainly modern piece of architecture though it was vastly more traditional than some of the more angular structures the coastline boasted these days. Pulling into the driveway, she couldn’t believe that they were planning on ripping the monstrosity down and starting over. It would be close to a year, maybe two, for the thing to be rebuilt. Perhaps it would be better to just refurbish the inside? Getting out of the car, sea air enveloping her, she grabbed her peacoat from the back seat and slipped it over her slender arms and shoulders. Heading up the stairs, she walked out front, the panoramic view of Perkins Lake and the mountains in the distance something she knew she would never get sick of. She couldn’t bring herself to go inside, not alone at least. She hadn’t been there in nearly a year, couldn’t bring herself to let the ghosts that haunted the dark house completely take her over. Instead, she waiting, enjoying the sunshine on her pale skin the the breath of Spring. and as the world comes to an end
i’ll be here to hold your hand because your a king and i’m your lion heart |