Susan sat at the kitchen table, still flushed from the run. She looked at Danny’s back while he made them both a cup of coffee. She had been going over what she would tell him over and over as she ran. It wasn’t going to be easy to explain, but she owed it to him to be honest.
As he turned, holding the two coffee cups in his hand, she smiled up at him. “There you go, beautiful! One cuppa for me lady.” Danny placed Susan’s cup in front of her and smiled back.
“Thanks.” She picked the cup up in both hands enjoying the heat on her cold hands. “Umm, Dan…there’s something I need to tell you.” She looked at him as he took the seat opposite her. “And, I’m not sure how or where to begin.”
“Blimey Sue! This sounds ominous. You’re not leaving me are you?” He chuckled, but there was a slight strain to his words that belied the laugh.
“No…but…what I’m about to tell you is going to sound strange. All I ask is that you keep an open mind, and if at all possible, you let me talk without interruption.” She really didn’t know how to begin. The speech had been forming in her mind throughout the run, but now everything just sounded crazy. It was crazy! “I guess, there’s no way to start this other than just jumping in and beginning.” So she began.
She talked, and explained how she had returned to their bathroom this morning. That she had been there once before but had made assumptions about their relationship that had been so wrong. She walked him through her other life. The one where they had parted and she had gone on to follow her own goals. She had made many changes to her life in a pursuit of success, and on the surface she had succeeded. She had wealth. She had good health. She had what others regarded as the perfect partner.
And yet, this morning when she got up early and went to her bathroom, not the one they shared, but her other one in her other life, she was considering ending everything. She didn’t want to continue. She was even happy knowing that she had made the decision. Strange as that may seem.
Stranger still, she had got up and was going through the motions of her every day, brushing her teeth, thinking about how she would finalise everything. It was in this act that she had another strange encounter for the second time. There was a flicker of light and suddenly she found herself back in their bathroom on the very day, so long ago, that she had told him she was moving out.
She paused, looking at him. “Do you remember when you came into the bathroom this morning, how I was sitting on the rim of the bath?”
Danny stared back at her. He couldn’t seem to find any words. “Well, that’s when it happened. That’s when I returned. This time though, I asked you if you wanted to join me on my run. This time, I opened myself up. I didn’t think you’d actually choose to join me but I asked anyway.”
“And I said yes.” He replied.
“Yes, you did.” She smiled back at him. “You have always loved me. You have always been there for me. But this morning, the first time round, I wasn’t there for you…or me.
That’s now going to change. I have been delivered a second chance. I’m not going to waste it.” Susan got up from her chair and walked over to Danny cupping his face in her hands. “I’m going to learn how to love. To love you. And just as importantly, to love me.
That is…I think…what it’s all about.” And with that she delivered a heartfelt kiss; one that was received and reciprocated.
Drop in the Ocean is a weekly show over on Discord in the BuddyUp server.
You can join us anytime by clicking here. When you first arrive you will be welcomed and directed to introduce yourself. After all, we want to know who our new buddy is :smiley:.
The Drop in the Ocean airs every Monday at 8pm (UTC) and together all the buddies discuss their individual posts on the word of the week.
This week's word is:
Delivery
This is the final instalment of Susan and Danny's story. You can read their earlier chapters, all influenced by the weekly Drop in the Ocean word of the week below:
Part 1 - Disconnected
Part 2 - Resolution
Part 3 - Ambiguity
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Steem Terminal is just one of many great communities. It has been set up to help. You can read more about it here and here.
