Sam puttered around the house, putting away the washed dishes and looking in the fridge for something he could throw together for lunch. Ashton had been gone for almost an hour, and he wanted to surprise her with something delicious to eat when she walked in the door. He thought he knew what she had gone into the woods to get. He had seen her eyeing a fallen log yesterday, and had suppressed a laugh as he knew their house would be its new home before long.
He found the makings of a chef salad, one of his specialties, so he spent the time slicing and dicing until he had all the fixings ready to put together. He looked at the clock and noticed that another half hour had passed. He imagined that before too long Ashton would be back asking for his help as the log probably still had roots embedded in the ground.
He wandered into the living room and turned on the T V for noise and to maybe catch up on the world happenings. He found a national news channel and went to grab himself a soda before settling down to watch. He had just opened the fridge door when the male announcer came on saying, “We have breaking news. The body of missing heiress Ashton Rider was discovered a few hours ago, still in the wreckage of her four-wheel drive vehicle in a ravine outside Boulder Colorado. The twenty-eight year old woman has been missing since late May when she left her home in New York, saying in a note that she needed some time alone. Friends became worried when she could not be reached and filed a missing persons report with police after a week of no word from her. Miss Rider’s parents, Matthew and Piper Rider, died almost four years ago, leaving their fortune to their only child, Ashton. A passing hiker found the wreckage and notified Boulder police, who say the investigation as to what happened is still ongoing. Stay turned for more details as they become available.”
Sam had left the refrigerator door standing open as he made his way into the living room to stare at the TV. He saw a picture of Ashton splashed across the screen, but could not, would not believe what was being said. It couldn’t be true, he thought. She’s here with me. She’s here with me.
Sam made his legs move, slowly at first and then with speed as he hit the door and ran into the woods. “Ashton!” he called, loudly, panic rampant in each word. “Ashton!” He ran until he found the spot where Ashton had been only an hour before, finding her gone, the bag she had taken, lying empty and forgotten on the ground. Sam clenched his fists and felt the bite of the ring on his left hand as it cut deep with the pressure. He cradled the hand that held his wedding ring, so new to him, against his chest, felt his legs turn to water, fell to his knees, and wept as his heart broke.
The deepening shadows finally brought Sam back, as slowly getting to his feet, he made his way back to the house. All was as he had left it hours before, TV on, refrigerator door open, and the forgotten salad ingredients setting on the cupboard. He shut off the TV and cleaned the kitchen, removing all signs of anyone being there.
He made his way up to the bedroom where he and Ashton had found love, made love, and slept wrapped in each other’s arms. He gathered the few things of his that had found their way into the house, and stuffed them into a bag. Looking around the room he felt the emptiness, as if the life had gone from it. He put the bottle of perfume he had given Ashton into his pocket, wrapped the picture she had taken of herself for him as a gift in the bag of clothes.
He walked down the stairs and out the back door, setting his load on the steps and turning to lock the door before making his way back to his home. But then he stopped and reentered the house. Taking only five minutes, he came back out, pulled the door shut behind him, and locked it.
As he left he took nothing with him except the bag of clothes with their precious cargo enclosed, and the bathroom mirror.
He didn’t look back.