my lips in a possessive kiss. He slants his head to the side, running his tongue along the closed lips until they part for him. I put all my love into the kiss, release every smothered emotion into this second.
At the end of the kiss, we keep our faces close, breathing in each other’s air.
“Thank you for listening and not judging,” he says between heavy breaths.
“Whenever you want to talk to me, I will listen without judging,” I vow.
“We didn’t just come here to sit outside,” he says reluctantly, shifting me, so that I’m standing. He rises to his feet and shakes his head like he’s wiping away the memories. “I need to pick up some paperwork. It’s in the entryway.”
“What kind of paperwork?” I ask him as we make our way back toward the front of the house.
“I’m selling this place,” he says shortly, extracting the key from his pocket and shoving it into the lock. He doesn’t allow me to enter, darting in and returning with a legal-sized manila envelope.
“After Cooper was gone, my parents wanted nothing to do with the property and deeded me the house. I’m sure you have more questions about why they left.”
I nod my confirmation.
“That has to do with my sister,” he says. We walk back to his car, he opens the passenger door for me, and I slide into the seat. “Since they gave it to me, I’ve had a caretaker maintaining the property and rented it to different people over the years.”
After he shuts the door firmly, Harris moves stealthy to the driver’s side, climbs into the car, and presses the start button. “You gave me the courage to let go of this place. I’m selling it.”
“Me?” I utter in alarm.
“It happened as soon as I saw you that day in the kitchen; my view of life started shifting. You showed me a chance for something more than just loneliness. But the biggest impact you had was when you told me about your family. I thought how easy it could have been for you to be consumed by depression. But you let go of the things and people that hurt you to make the best of your life. You forgive… your dad, the shitty things that have happened to you. But more than that, you live every day to be a woman that your mother can be proud of. I don’t think Cooper would want me to carry this guilt every day. Like your mom, he’d want me to live.”
He hasn’t pulled out of the drive yet, just left the car humming and my mouth gaping. Harris found a side of me no one else has ever uncovered or cared to discover. There’s no pretense, no need to put up a front. With Harris, he sees and accepts all that I am.
“Harris,” I say when I get ahold of my wits. “For what it’s worth, I believe that Cooper wants you to live your life to its fullest potential, too. With relationships, work, family, he’d want you happy. I saw that picture of all three of you; it’s so obvious how much you loved each other.”
His tense shoulders slacken as he steers away from the houses.
“Are you still in therapy?” I ask gently.
“After we met, I started going to sessions again,” he answers. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be going. Whenever I need the good doctor, I make a habit of visiting him.”
This time it’s me who stretches across the car to tangle our fingers.
The rest of the ride happens in silence, but soon enough we pull up infront of a quaint country grocer and café. As usual, Harris dashes around the car to open my door and lends me his hand to help me out. We order sandwiches inside the restaurant and then take them to picnic tables shaded by giant umbrellas outside. Since it’s late lunch on a Wednesday afternoon, the place is mostly vacant.
We situate ourselves on either side of the table. Before either of us says anything, a buzzing from my phone alerts me of a message.
Dad: Back in DC. Will call this weekend… unless you need me now?
At his gesture, I smile to myself.
“Who is it?” Harris asks.
“My
At the end of the kiss, we keep our faces close, breathing in each other’s air.
“Thank you for listening and not judging,” he says between heavy breaths.
“Whenever you want to talk to me, I will listen without judging,” I vow.
“We didn’t just come here to sit outside,” he says reluctantly, shifting me, so that I’m standing. He rises to his feet and shakes his head like he’s wiping away the memories. “I need to pick up some paperwork. It’s in the entryway.”
“What kind of paperwork?” I ask him as we make our way back toward the front of the house.
“I’m selling this place,” he says shortly, extracting the key from his pocket and shoving it into the lock. He doesn’t allow me to enter, darting in and returning with a legal-sized manila envelope.
“After Cooper was gone, my parents wanted nothing to do with the property and deeded me the house. I’m sure you have more questions about why they left.”
I nod my confirmation.
“That has to do with my sister,” he says. We walk back to his car, he opens the passenger door for me, and I slide into the seat. “Since they gave it to me, I’ve had a caretaker maintaining the property and rented it to different people over the years.”
After he shuts the door firmly, Harris moves stealthy to the driver’s side, climbs into the car, and presses the start button. “You gave me the courage to let go of this place. I’m selling it.”
“Me?” I utter in alarm.
“It happened as soon as I saw you that day in the kitchen; my view of life started shifting. You showed me a chance for something more than just loneliness. But the biggest impact you had was when you told me about your family. I thought how easy it could have been for you to be consumed by depression. But you let go of the things and people that hurt you to make the best of your life. You forgive… your dad, the shitty things that have happened to you. But more than that, you live every day to be a woman that your mother can be proud of. I don’t think Cooper would want me to carry this guilt every day. Like your mom, he’d want me to live.”
He hasn’t pulled out of the drive yet, just left the car humming and my mouth gaping. Harris found a side of me no one else has ever uncovered or cared to discover. There’s no pretense, no need to put up a front. With Harris, he sees and accepts all that I am.
“Harris,” I say when I get ahold of my wits. “For what it’s worth, I believe that Cooper wants you to live your life to its fullest potential, too. With relationships, work, family, he’d want you happy. I saw that picture of all three of you; it’s so obvious how much you loved each other.”
His tense shoulders slacken as he steers away from the houses.
“Are you still in therapy?” I ask gently.
“After we met, I started going to sessions again,” he answers. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be going. Whenever I need the good doctor, I make a habit of visiting him.”
This time it’s me who stretches across the car to tangle our fingers.
The rest of the ride happens in silence, but soon enough we pull up infront of a quaint country grocer and café. As usual, Harris dashes around the car to open my door and lends me his hand to help me out. We order sandwiches inside the restaurant and then take them to picnic tables shaded by giant umbrellas outside. Since it’s late lunch on a Wednesday afternoon, the place is mostly vacant.
We situate ourselves on either side of the table. Before either of us says anything, a buzzing from my phone alerts me of a message.
Dad: Back in DC. Will call this weekend… unless you need me now?
At his gesture, I smile to myself.
“Who is it?” Harris asks.
“My
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