The Visitor ©

She let the warm water wrap itself around her. The sweet smell of jasmine hung in the air. The candles flickered, shadows dancing on the ceiling. She let the tension slowly seep away, heaving a heavy sign as the last remnants seemed to slip into the water. The zen moment was shattered by the barking of her dog.

“Damn” she muttered. The spell was broken. She reluctantly dragged herself out of the bath tub, grabbing her towel and wrapping it around her slender body.

“Seriously Bear, it better be important”

He was always barking at what appeared at first to be something unseen, but usually turned out to be the squirrel that torments him. He eyesight was amazing, at the same time it could be annoying. Sarah quickly towled her wet body then grabbed her wonderfully soft, fluffy robe. It was almost as soothing as the bath. She slipped on her flip flops and padded into the living room to determine what set Bear off.

She was halfway through the living room when the doorbell rang. Startled she looked at Bear who had begun a new tirade of barking. ‘Who would be coming to my house at this hour’, she thought. It was after 9 pm. No one came after 9 pm, well actually few people came to her house ever. She liked her solitude.

The doorbell rang again. Sarah crept quietly to the front door trying to determine whether to open it or not. She lived in a quiet, safe neighborhood. ‘Well, if Bear hasn’t scared him away….’, her thought trailed off. She opened the door a crack.

She stared, surprised at who stood in front of her.

“Are you going to invite me in?”, he asked quietly.

Startled back to reality she opened the door further to let him in. ‘What is he doing here?’, she thought to herself. She pulled her robe more tightly around her naked body, suddenly acutely aware of his presence. She closed the front door and followed him into her living room. She had built a fire in the fireplace before taking her bath, but it was in need of another log. She walked over to the fireplace, fidgeted with the logs, then added a small log. She turned to face him, “What are you doing here”, she finally blurted out.

A smile crept over his face, not a sweet one, but one of amusement. This irked her. He was good at pushing her buttons, driving her crazy. He called it his “love language”, she called it aggravating. God she loved him, she couldn’t help it. He made her weak in the knees. She could run the gamut of emotions just by him walking into a room. She had never told him how she felt. They were “just friends”. She had been in love with him for years, in fact she knew the moment that it happened. It was six months after they first met.

They were both married and went to the same church. It just happened that they were at the same lunch meeting for new members. He was a trustee, she was interested in joining the church. He had walked over to her table to officially introduce himself and answer any questions. That’s how it started, the challenge. For some reason he decided to pick on her. Ever since that day they had an uncommon relationship. He was like a 12 year old around her. Poking at her, playfully insulting her, critiquing her choice of reading materials, it was annoying, but at the same time sweet. They were never anything but friends.

She tried to dismiss her feelings for him as nothing more than a school girl crush, but as her marriage crumbled she couldn’t deny that there was more to her feelings for him. Her marriage was failing long before she met him, he was not the cause, nor was he a contributing factor. Marriage was supposed to be forever, but even she recognized the failure. She wanted a partner, a lover, a prince. Her husband was more like one of her kids and she fell into the mother role. She tired of being the sole support while he flitted from one thing to the next, always blaming others for his failures. It became too much, too exhausting. She was no longer angry, she still cared about her ex-husband, but as a friend, nothing more. It took awhile, but it was liberating when he left. She re-discovered herself and it felt good. She enjoyed being alone, for the most part. Yet, there was something missing. That intimacy she longed for, something that she never felt with her ex-husband.

His wife had passed away after a short battle with cancer about a year ago. Sarah had been there for him, but at a safe distance, allowing him to pull his usual antics. It was comforting to her. His wife was beautiful and sweet. You couldn’t help but like her which is what made Sarah’s feelings for him all the more difficult. She knew they were wrong, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

“Sarah?”,. It was slightly more than a whisper but it snapped her back to the present.

“Are you alright?” he added with a hint of concern.

“What do you want?” This came out a little more angry than she had intended.

“I would like to talk”

She stared at him. ‘Oh god, why do you torture me?’ she thought to herself. She looked at his beautiful brown eyes and that mass of thick brown curls with just a hint of gray at the temples. Her thoughts were quickly turning x-rated. ‘Sarah, back to reality, do NOT go down that path’ she was telling herself.

“Um, about what?” she asked awkwardly. This was becoming increasingly uncomfortable for her. She was suddenly aware of her nakedness under that robe and the traitor her body was.

“You’re blushing” he said with more delight than she thought was necessary.

“You’re annoying” she blurted out.

This only spurred him on. He fell right back to his old ways of teasing her.

Frustrated she said, “You should probably leave, I need to put my pajama’s on.”

“No”. It was a determined no, not a forceful no, but definitely a statement.

“No, you don’t want to leave? Or no don’t put my pajama’s on?”

“Both”