The Living XI

Laura woke to an empty bed but the bedside table held a fresh cup of coffee and a note from Bill. The coffee was the perfect drinking temperature, telling her he hadn’t been gone too long. She took a sip as she read the note.

Gone to the rental office to take care of a couple things. Will be back with breakfast. Enjoy the coffee. Bill.

Laura smiled and shook her head at his continued thoughtfulness. She wondered if he was always so, or if it was just with her, or if it would fade once the newness wore off.

Setting the cup on the bedside table, Laura rose and slipped into her robe. She noted that his duffle was packed and setting near the door, indicating his readiness to depart when the time came. She must have really been sleeping soundly to have not heard him moving around in the room, or maybe he’d just been that quiet. She considered the latter was entirely possible; he was a largely quiet man.

Retrieving her coffee, she made her way to the bathroom for her morning ablutions and a shower. She took her time, enjoying the hot water, the hint of salt scenting it and the air, blending with the light floral scent of her shampoo. Her sunburn, she noted, wasn’t angry. She hadn’t felt that deep, stinging burn when the water first hit it as was usually the case. She was going to have to commit Bill’s remedy for sunburn to memory.

With a smile, Laura finished her shower then exited, dried off and dressed. She then gathered her things and readied her bags for travel. She was just sealing up her suitcase when Bill returned with the promised breakfast and a foam cooler.

She set her cases with Bill’s duffle and stepped into her shoes before joining him in the kitchen where he was loading the cooler with the untouched beer and wine, and ice from the freezer. “I’ve made arrangements for the rental company to pick up the car here,” he said looking up and seeing her approach. “I’ll ride back with you, if that’s okay.”

“Of course,” she said, smiling. She was delighted he would be riding back with her, in fact…

“You can even drive if you want,” she told him, having noticed his affinity for her car.

He grinned. “You sure?”

“Yes,” she replied, checking out the sack he’d set on the counter — the one that had an incredible aroma coming from it. “What did you bring us to eat?”

“Omelets,” he replied. “But what you’re smelling is this tea they were brewing. I thought you might like it. They put milk it and a sprinkled some sort of spices on the top. Smelled a bit like cinnamon.”

“Well, let’s give it a try,” she said, retrieving a sealed foam cup from the sack. She opened up the little sip part of the cup and took one. “Mmmmmm, Bill, this is wonderful.” She took another sip and loved the resulting burst of flavor on her tongue.

He reached into the sack while she drank and pulled out a second cup, then a pair of takeout containers. He set them out and the plastic utensils, opening both for her while she enjoyed the tea. It was really good, and so was the omelet.

They ate together in quiet, standing there at the counter. When it was done, Laura gathered up the remains and put them in the trash receptacle. Bill, she noted, had already cleaned out the refrigeration unit, and the now-packed cooler sat near the door.

As she watched Bill haul their bags from the bedroom and set them with the cooler, she felt a bit melancholic. She was going to miss the largely idyllic atmosphere this place offered, the seclusion from the outside world. And she was going to miss him.

He wasn’t gone just yet, but he would be soon. In a few days, he would be returning to his ship, setting off to somewhere in the depths of space — he couldn’t even tell her where — and taking his steadiness and warmth with him.

This parting was going to be different from their last, when they’d gone their separate ways without any expectations of communications or of seeing one another again. She didn’t want it to be that way this time, wasn’t sure she could live with that, and, unless, she missed her guess, she didn’t think he wanted things that way either.

“You want to take a walk before we go?” he asked, emerging from the short hall that led to the bathroom. She’d watched him check there and the bedroom to make sure they’d left nothing behind.

“I’d love to,” she told him.

He smiled and offered her his hand. She took it and he led them out back, across the deck, down the steps, and onto the sand.

They walked near where the water caressed the shore and Laura shut her eyes trusting him to guide her. She breathed deeply of the salt air, let the comforting sounds of the sea and wind wrap around her, and savored the warmth of the hand wrapped around hers.

His words, when they came as they walked, did not come as a surprise and she smiled at hearing them, and at how they had mirrored her thoughts just minutes before.

“I want to write you, Laura. Call you when I can,” came his voice in a rumble beside her, one that defied the whistle of wind in her ears. “But if it’s not what you want…”

His voice trailed off and she opened her eyes, looked over to see him looking at her, his gaze so hopeful at seeing her expression.

Still smiling, Laura leaned over and kissed him, just to the side of his mouth, and whispered in reply, “I’d like that, Bill.”

He didn’t say anything more and neither did she. They just turned around and headed back to load the car and return to the city.

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