She stands on her toes to give me a quick kiss.
I can’t believe that I’ve been missing out on this, being tied down to someone. Or it’s just Esme. But lucky me, I have her now.
“Is this why you like wildflowers?”I ask as we walk along the clearing amongst the tall grass, making our way to a creek that I hear.
Esme has a wry smile as she leads the way. “Maybe. They are rustic and spontaneous. There is no logic to why they popup where they are. Anything purple and white are my favorite.”
“I don’t believe that I’ve ever been out this way.” It’s picturesque.
She glances over her shoulder with a knowing look. “Because someone here struggles to stop and actually take a breath from work. Enjoy the quiet, will you?”
“Silence doesn’t exist around you,” I retort, but her smile brightens. “What is this place, exactly? Is this where you end my life and nobody can find the body?”
She grabs my wrist and leads as we arrive at the destination—an old pick-up truck with a stack of hay and overgrown grass close by and the creek in the background. I smile at the setting.
“It’s where I do most of my photoshoots. There is a footbridge up there after the tree line, too. Even an old, broken-down water wheel on a mill.” She indicates with her head. “It isn’t private land, just not many people are aware of this place. At sunset, the light is amazing.”
I circle in spot to truly examine the scene, and this is full-on prairie. Following her cue, I join her sitting on the back edge of the truck with our feet dangling.
“To be honest, as much as it is uplifting to take photos of couples heading toward forever, sometimes it’s confronting.”
“How so?”
She hums a sound. “I guess… life is good, except for my neighbor from hell.” Esme bumps my arm with hers and smirks. “But life is just a movie. Fire aside, nothing is so wrong, and for many, they might think it’s boring. Great friends, simple days. I haven’t had much thought about the future, and maybe I should have. Lately, there have been little cracks that cause me to question life.”
I adjust my body and lean back on my arms. “I can relate.I haven’t had much need to think past tomorrow in my personal life.”
“Aren’t we boring people.”
“Nah, we’re just like half of the adult population.”
She lowers her sight to me, with her lips slanted to one side. “We should be the other half.”
“Okay, then what do you see in your future?”
Esme thinks for a moment. “It’s a blur except for flowers.”
“I guess I need to get you another bouquet since my first effort was incinerated, just the way we used to be with one another.”
“Used to be? Other than me now temporarilyliving with you, time will tell if our armistice will hold. I saw you leave a dish in the sink,” she warns.
I laugh. “If that’s the biggest concern, then we’re doing okay.”
She gently shoves me. “But seriously, I’m beginning to wonder if lack of direction is preventing me from something, I’m not sure what… maybe life-altering. I should use this house fire as that opportunity. Living situation, career, hobbies, the whole shebang.”
I tap her arm with my own. “Then do it.”
Esme snickers. “I guess. You know, when I found out that the house was left to me by my great-aunt, I wasn’t sure I would move. First, I thought of renting it out, but then I thought of how I could have a little studio, and there is character in an old house. You have a house, but it’s only a home if you make it that way. I’m going to miss it.”
“You sound like it will never return,” I say softly.
She shrugs. “Once everything is fixed, then maybe there won’t be the same energy in the house.”
“Is this the part where you inform me you feel the ghostin your house will return or that we need to take a trip to that candle store that I told you about?”
She grins at me, appreciating my humor. “Tempting, but it’s just… there is an overwhelming feeling that change is on the horizon. Surely, you’ve had a moment like that in life.”
My jaw flexes side to side, doing my best to analyze my life. “In college, I had my eye on law school. Law school isn’t always a breeze, but then you have your sight on your career. Once you establish your career, then you are too wrapped up in the workload to think beyond anything else. When I was hired for the Spinners, then that was career success mixed with a hobby.”
