AUTHOR:
Rebecca Parker
EMAIL:
NumfarGal@aol.com
RATING:
PG
PAIRING:
Liz/Kyle, mention of Liz/Max
IMPROV#8:
lilac -- amuse -- savor -– sky
FEEDBACK:
Yes please! I do the dance of joy upon receipt of feedback.
DISCLAIMER:
Jason Katims owns all.
DISTRIBUTION:
Just ask.
DEDICATION:
To Bri, my
NOTE:
Title is a lyric from Sting's "Fields of Gold"
There's
a swing on our porch that we find ourselves lounging in most nights.
I
sit across it, my head on one side, my feet on the other, and she lays
draped
across me.
The
air in
or
dry. It's right in the middle, and it makes spending a few hours outside a
viable
alternative.
She
talks about work, and Maria, and I talk about sports, and Dad. It doesn't
matter
what winds up being discussed; the point is to be together. The point
is
feeling safe in each other's arms; feeling close and protected.
It's
been years since the danger came close enough to touch us, and I doubt
either
of us really miss it very much.
I
know I embrace the boredom of long nights spent rocking on this porch, and,
by
the way she smiles when she looks up at me, I think she does too.
But
I can't help but notice when her eyes drift longingly to the sky, and I
know
that, as much as she appreciates the boredom of being with me, she'd
consider
trading it all in to be with him again, danger or not.
He
left almost eight years ago, amidst drama and tears, crying and pleading.
Liz
wasn't the same for nearly a year, and I think she found it hardest to be
stuck
in the past when everyone around her was moving forward.
When
she found her way back to me, I was dubious at first.
It had been two
years
since they had all made their way back home and left us to ours, and
the
two of us had been estranged for nearly as long.
It
had taken months for me to break down the walls she had built around
herself,
years to get her to open her heart to someone but him. And when we
got
married last year, I tried not to notice that look in her eyes that told
me
she was giving up and giving in.
So
I just sit with her warm body pressed against mine, and savor the time
with
her. I try not to think that I won what was left of her heart merely
because
I was left behind.
She
leans in close and snuggles against my neck, and I can smell the faintest
scent
of lilac on her skin. It's so familiar- she's so familiar, and I lay a
soft
kiss on the spot as if to claim her.
I
feel like I could lose her, and so I hold her close. I watch as she eyes
the
sky, and I gaze at it just as nervously. Her precious King could make one
decision
to come back, and I know everything I have could be put in jeopardy
just
as easily.
Until
then, I'll amuse myself with the lies I tell myself; that she loves me
more
than she ever loved him, that she truly wants to be here, and that I
stand
a chance in her heart whenever that day comes.
I'll
pretend that she watches the sky to savor it's beauty, to appreciate the
rarity
of every shooting star, and not to hope that one of them is him coming
back
for her.
The
End.
-Rebecca
