Silence

Emilia and Luke stayed on the beach until the cold crept into them. Childish giggling, rubbing sand off themselves, and hurriedly packing up their dinner mess filled the quick journey back to the house.

They left it all in the kitchen to tidy in the morning. Everything had an incandescence to it as they ran around the house to check everything was off. They locked up once, sure no lights were burning.

If Oliver stumbled back here earlier than he promised. He would just have to sleep on the porch.

She didn’t know what time it was as they raced up the creaking stairs. Sand sprinkling the floor as they moved. And entered the airy master bedroom, pulling their clothes away from damp skin.

The familiar fourposter bed, with its gossamer deep grey curtains tied back and the plush crimson bedspread, screamed at her to lie down on it. But she needed to get the sand and salt off her skin before she did.

Luke followed her into the opulent bathroom.

A claw-foot tub took up most of the space and matched the two black sinks and their vanity mirrors on the wall near the door. Neither would do.

She looked toward the walk-in shower and nodded. Luke’s hand slipped out of hers as they took their clothes off. Leaving them in a dirtied, crumpled pile on the chilly charcoal tiled floors.

She turned the waterfall shower on and made to step inside. A warm hand on her shoulder whirled her around. She glimpsed Luke’s strange down-turned smile as he hauled her in for an embrace and kiss so tender she shook in his arms.

Nothing was said as they parted. Hands joined as they stepped under the stream of hot water.

There was no need for her to fill the silence. They conveyed everything through gentle shared smiles and lingering glances. She handed Luke a cloth and kept one for herself before pouring soap on both.

Her laugh as Luke made sure his burnt back wasn’t under the steamy shower made him shoot her a mocking glare. He eyed her ratty hair for a too long moment.

She edged closer, reluctant to stray too far as steam infused the air and clogged her nose. He lifted a hand and plucked something out of the twisted silver strands hanging like octopus tentacles down her back.

She’d unwrapped her braid and dunked her head in the sea before getting dressed. Without a word, Luke held a stringy piece of seaweed up for her to inspect.

Emilia snorted. Her head shaking as she stretched up on her toes to ruffle her hand in his hair.

His faux glare was back. Granules of sand and pale shards of shell rained like minuscule confetti to the floor and swirled down the drain. Water splashing off the tile. The steady, loud beat of her heart, the echo of failed loves in their pasts.

It all vanished as she stared at him and he at her.

He reminded her of all the gentle things in life, like a favorite cardigan she chose over all others. Or a moment of warm sun on her face amidst a glacial storm.

He reminded her of all the safe things in life. Arms to hide in when things didn’t go her way. Arms to jump into whenever she won. And a hand to hold and cherish through all seasons.

She loved him, and he loved her. They could feel it, even if they couldn’t see, hear, or say it.

In everything he did and she gave, it was a choice they made.

An oath sworn and kept.

Love was the swelling in her chest and the hitch in her breath when she looked at him. It was the way he never made her feel crazy or unsteady.

How she eased him out of his head and kept his secrets safe from all others. Love was the gasp he could draw from her with the lightest of touches.

And love was the innate knowing that they could be themselves. They didn’t need to pretend to be perfect.

Or worry about what the other was thinking because they wholly accepted and celebrated each other.

The first time she ever noticed him, he caught her eye like a magpie catching sight of something shiny.

It hadn’t been love at first sight, no.

It was a quiet curiosity taking root in her chest.

That curiosity had spread its vines through her until it shouted at her to know him. She had known after that first night in his bed that it was only a matter of time before he grew all over her.

Nurturing a deep-seated familiarity that soon became a love so fierce and consuming, she now questioned if she’d ever truly known love before him.

She could hear it loud and clear in the serene silence. There, in the way he forgot his discomfort and joined her under the hot water.

Their washcloths dropped in synchrony and instantly forgotten as they reached for one another.

The words were barely audible over the pattering water spraying over them. But they resonated in her blood and bones as she and Luke whispered almost simultaneously.

“I love you.”

If she were honest, she’d known that it would come out as a quivering sigh and not an exultant scream.

And it was enough to be heard and seen by the one they hoped would stand shoulder to shoulder. Ten toes down through all of life’s many battles.

For once, her mind wasn’t yelling questions at her. Her heartbeat was thudding strong. Her muscles were loose and mouth smiling.

Luke’s expression radiated a similar peace to the one she felt like a warm summer day inside her chest.

There was a brief pause. As if the air itself held its breath, and then he was kissing her again.

It felt like a vow sealed, a promise to uphold it no matter what came next. She couldn’t wait to find out what the future held.

For now, she soaked in her love and existed in that moment only.

Come what may, they always had this.

The best was yet to come.