Mary was reading a book. Curled into her couch, she had a tall glass of homemade lemonade sitting on the small night desk on her left. She had wrapped around her curvy frame her favorite cardigan and had lit up the little lamp on the night desk. Tom was on the small office desk he had set up by his corner of the bed and was reading newspapers and planning strategies for the weeks to come. A comfortable silence had settled in the room, each adult enjoying their activities with only the crackling sound of fire as background noise. Mary was deeply immersed in her book, so much so that she had not noticed her black stallion staring at her.
He had stopped working and decided to turn his attention on the woman across the room. Mary was so quiet, yet she lit up the room with her warm presence. She had regained her usual weight and along with it, her colors. She was glowing under the dim light of the lamp. Her brown hair crowned her brown face perfectly. Her green eyes were gleaming with interest. Her plump lips… Tom licked his bottom lip because he wanted to kiss them. He would have crossed the distance between them, would have cupped her cheek and would have crashed his lips against hers. She looked peaceful there, and comfortable in her duvet wrapped around her frame, and Tom felt relieved to see her like this.
She turned her page and slowly pinched the bridge of her nose. She stopped reading and softly smiled while she wrapped her duvet tighter against her frame. Her green eyes set upon the Shelby who was caught staring at her. She tilted her head to the side, and a curled grin graced her features. Tom smiled back and put the newspapers on the office desk.
“It’s good to see you smile, Mary.”
“Mmmhh…. I think I am simply happy tonight. I have a good book on my lap. I have a lovely and vivacious son, and my black stallion is back home.” -She gave him a sheepish smile and put the book on the couch-
“I made you a promise. I had to keep it.”
She smiled at him. A soft and understanding smile. He did promise her he would try to make shorter trips and be more present at home, and for a brief moment she decided to believe him. Mary was aware that in his line of work, he could not possibly come back home every night at the same time. So she didn’t ask for it to be permanent. What she hoped for was to have at Least a couple of days spent with him and Charlie, so their son could see his dad. She wanted him to give Charlie the childhood he didn’t have with his own father, and that included spending time with the child.
“I realized something last week...”
“When I was at Ada’s?” He nodded. “You realized that you had a nice weekend without me?” She grinned and tapped her fingers against the book cover. Tom shook his head and stood up. He crossed the distance between them and gently cupped her cheek with his calloused hands.
“Arrow House isn’t really a home when you aren’t here.” A simple sentence made her open her eyes wide and gasp. She did not expect him to feel
This way and even less to say it. It was so simple and yet so deep.
“What are you talking about, Tom!? Of course it’s a home. It’s your home with Charlie.” She blushed and tried to avert her gaze from Tom’s face to the floor, but the hand on her cheek stopped her.
Instead, Tom pulled her hew dup( so she would be staring at him. Her heart was beating hard against her ribcage, and she licked at her bottom lip.
“No. We are simply two lads living in a house. You, Mary, are the heart of this family. You are our home. I realized that, and I felt stupid for not having seen it sooner.” He cupped her other cheek and leaned his forehead against hers.
“ I was so busy that I did not see. I did not see that you were the glue to our family. You were our Home, Mary. Without you, the house felt empty and cold, and I was unsettled by it all.”
Her green eyes welled up as the man kept talking to her. She wanted to tell him about the sweet dream she had the night before. She wanted him to hear about how she dreamed of their child together. A baby she was holding in her arms while Tommy was doting on it. She couldn’t see clearly if it was a boy or a girl but could remember its features. Curly brown hair, intense grey eyes, and a charming smile with the skin a warm caramel color. She imagined herself smiling, singing lullabies to her baby and cradling
Its head. The dream was so vivid, so joyous that she woke up with tears in her eyes to the reality of her life. It wasn’t sadness. It was joy.
Mary realized that she was able to dream of a baby after so many years being triggered by a baby’s cry. She was able to dream of a happiness that filled her with joy rather than dread. That child, in her dream, represented the future for Tommy and her. It represented a better life, a life spent closer. A life spent without any doubt creeping into her heart. Tom loved her. She knew it. No matter how many times Lizzy Stark tried to make her think otherwise, Tom’s love was true. Tom’s love was deep. That love would flourish and grow over the years. It will be stronger as time will go by and they will be lucky to grow old together.
She couldn’t share that dream with Tom. Not as it was because he might believe she wanted to have a literal child with him. These things could only be decided by God as she did not plan to get pregnant. The idea crossed her mind; of course it did. And she hoped one day they would have their little one. She hoped that perhaps they would be happy as a family of four. But when Tom held her like that? When he leaned his forehead to hers and told her she was their home, she found herself with unshed tears filling her eyes and a wet nose. Her hands found his wrists, and she smiled softly.
“I have missed you when I was away. You do know that my heart is only whole when you are here. I didn’t think you would notice I was gone.” She teased him. Her hand moved from his wrist to his flannel long-sleeved shirt.
“You thought wrong. I notice everything, Draga.” -He spoke Romani again. She identified the words he sometimes uttered. Draga was such an endearing term. It made Mary shiver. Her mouth slightly opened as she wanted to say something, but words died at the back of her throat. “I have missed this… you. I have missed you.” He pressed his lips to her, kissing Mary in a possessive kiss that took both their breaths away. He didn’t care about it as the only thing he wanted was to taste her, to show her that he couldn’t go on without her, that she was indeed the glue that kept their family together. She was the one he loved. She was the one he loved, and she had to feel it. She had to feel it with every fiber of her body. He had to make sure it would be etched in her soul.
And that, he did that night.
-TBC-
