07-25-2016, 10:21 AM
When Tiernan holds on just a little longer, I smile and let myself linger in the warmth of his embrace for a few heartbeats longer. It’s been so long since anyone held me like this, since I felt such uncomplicated joy just being near someone dear to me. When he lets go, I press a soft little kiss to his shoulder before pulling back to look at him.
“I am, much better. It...it took a long time, and it still catches me out of nowhere now and then. Being back here…” The smile on my face gets a little heavy, the edges weighed down with echoes of that old grief. “It’s harder, being here. So many old memories, so many old ghosts. But it was time. I’ve grandbabies about, you know, and I’ve missed being surrounded by little ones.”
God, he’s so sweet, so understanding. His lips brush my cheek, and I lean just a little into the touch. He could so easily have felt hurt, or rejected, or unimportant, tossed aside by the waves of grief that had been drowning me. Instead, his words ease something in my chest, an old ache of guilt over leaving everyone behind when it got to be too heavy to bear any longer.
“You always know just what to say. Thank you, love. I...I needed to hear that.” His breath against my cheek chases the last of that old sorrow from my lips, and my smile softens again as I brush my lips against his cheek in return. “Lately? Spending time with a few of my children, their mates, their babies. Immersing myself in family. What about you?”
“I am, much better. It...it took a long time, and it still catches me out of nowhere now and then. Being back here…” The smile on my face gets a little heavy, the edges weighed down with echoes of that old grief. “It’s harder, being here. So many old memories, so many old ghosts. But it was time. I’ve grandbabies about, you know, and I’ve missed being surrounded by little ones.”
God, he’s so sweet, so understanding. His lips brush my cheek, and I lean just a little into the touch. He could so easily have felt hurt, or rejected, or unimportant, tossed aside by the waves of grief that had been drowning me. Instead, his words ease something in my chest, an old ache of guilt over leaving everyone behind when it got to be too heavy to bear any longer.
“You always know just what to say. Thank you, love. I...I needed to hear that.” His breath against my cheek chases the last of that old sorrow from my lips, and my smile softens again as I brush my lips against his cheek in return. “Lately? Spending time with a few of my children, their mates, their babies. Immersing myself in family. What about you?”