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Ethan
I pulled my mother’s chicken broccoli casserole out of the oven and heard footsteps descend down the hallway. Like always, the second I pulled the damn thing out of the oven, everyone would come tromping into the kitchen. Everyone loved my mother’s cooking. Especially my team. They never got any home-cooked meals, since most of them were bachelors, which meant the best home-cooked meal they usually got was boiled noodles and canned spaghetti sauce. I set the casserole down on the table along with the homemade rolls and salad, then I watched as everyone began to pile food on their plates.
“Make sure to leave some for Diana. I’m going go to knock on her door,” I said.
I poured us both a drink before I made my way up the stairs. I hadn’t heard much from Diana since we had first gotten here yesterday. She had barely came down and hadn’t made a peep. Other than bath water running and hearing her feet pad across the ceiling of the living room, there wasn't much to be heard from her.
Which was odd.
“Diana?” I asked.
I knocked on her bedroom door and heard her tell me to come in.
At least, I thought that was what she said. Her voice was so meek and soft that I couldn’t really make out what she had said. I twisted the doorknob and slowly inched the door open. The sight before me felt like a blow to my chest. There was Diana, her wild raven hair flowing down her back and her legs curled up against her chest. She sat in the cushioned windowsill of her bedroom with her eyes fixed out on the backyard. Her expression was unreadable, but the longer she sat there, the harder she hugged her knees. Her back was hunched up and her eyes seemed glazed over, as if she was there, yet not really there.
Every time I thought I had her figured out, she surprised me with her vulnerability.
I stood there a moment to take her in. I hadn’t realized her hair had any sort of kink to it. It was usually stick straight and smooth, but the wild jet-black hair in front of me was anything but tamed. It had beach waves in it reflecting the rays of the setting sun streaming through her window. She had on no makeup, her clothes didn’t cling to her body, and her legs weren’t shining with lotion. And yet, she was somehow more beautiful than the first time I had ever laid eyes on her.
How was that possible?
“Dinner’s ready,” I said as I cleared my throat.
“Not hungry,” she mumbled.
“Well, my mother’s cooking isn’t something that’s usually missed. If you don’t come get any, I can’t guarantee there will be any later for you to heat up.”
I watched a small smile slide across her cheeks, but she didn’t move. She didn’t turn her head to face me and her eyes didn’t connect with mine. She didn’t get up from the windowsill and follow behind me. She didn’t really make a move at all. And I didn’t know what else to say to her.
But that didn’t mean I wanted to leave her in the kind of mood she was in.
“Would you like to take a walk?” I asked.
The grin slid from her cheeks and her brow furrowed with confusion.
“It’s just that we’ve been cooped up inside for a little while now. Either in the SUV or in the house. Figured you might want to stretch your legs,” I said.
I wasn’t sure if she would agree. If anything, reminiscing about what had taken place over the past twenty-four hours was sure to make her upset. But instead of kicking me out or throwing down another tantrum of hers, I watched her slide from the windowsill. She stretched her arms high into the sky until her back popped, then she bent down and touched her toes to stretch out her legs. I had to look away. Her languid movements were too much for me, even if she wasn’t intentionally doing anything.
“Lead the way,” she said.
I heard her fall in line behind me as I made my way down the steps. I ushered her out the front door while the guys all laughed and ate at the dinner table. I knew exactly where to take Diana walking. There was a path that ran across the massive backyard and into the woods that bordered the lawn. I placed my hand onto the small of her back until I had her feet falling on the cobblestones, then we followed the beaten path until we came to the edge of the woods. I felt her pull away from my hand and I allowed my arm to fall to my side, but the gesture wasn’t tense or uncomfortable. In fact, nothing felt like that.
Not even the silence that hung between us.
I watched Diana’s head pan around as she took in her surroundings. I watched the trees dance in her amber eyes. The awe and the amazement that hung in her features made me wonder how often she’d been outside of the city. Her feet slowly shuffled along the cobblestone before she stopped. I watched her bend down and pluck a wildflower from the side of the walkway before she brought it to her nose.
“That’s a marigold wildflower,” I said.
Her body came to a full stop as she closed her eyes and sniffed it.
“They’re everywhere,” she said, breathlessly.
“They grow wild and native around here in the summers,” I said.
“It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
A rush of excitement permeated through my veins. The idea of being able to show her new things made me feel proud. Especially things that had been important and vital to my childhood and my life as a whole. I started down the path again, eager to show her what I had carved out as a child. I hurried along the path and I felt her rushing to keep up with me as we entered the woods. I watched her frown in confusion, but I couldn't help it. This wooded path had always held a sort of magic for me. And I was about to show this magical place to Diana.
Something I thought she might enjoy.
“Why are we going so fast? Ethan, slow down.”
“Almost there,” I murmured.”
“Almost where?” she asked.
The path finally dumped us into the clearing. The field I had spent so many hours of my childhood running around in. During the summer, it was bursting at the seams with wildflowers. I stopped at the edge and heard Diana shuffle up next to me as my eyes took it in. The yellows and the purples, the blues and the greens. The wildflowers swayed in the wind as it kicked up around us, and I heard her gasp as she took in the sight.
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered.
I watched her take a step into the field as the flowers brushed against her calves. The evening sun beat down upon her olive skin, illuminating her in the colors of the sunset. She made her way slowly to the center of the field, and when we both got there I saw her eyes widen. In the center of the field was a small lake. And beside that lake was a small round stone building with columns and a dome roof on top. It was the gazebo my father and I had built when I was younger. It was a summer project of ours, and he had kept it up over the years.
Well, the years he was alive.
I walked up next to Diana and my eyes fell to her face. I watched her take it all in as the sunset was reflected in her brown gaze. Her parted lips broke into a heartbreakingly beautiful smile, and my breath caught in my chest. The wonder in her face and the newness of it all draping over her features—it was more than I could stand.
More than I could bear.
Diana was so fucking lovely, surrounded by the wilderness and the setting sun. I didn’t regret for a second bringing her out here to see all this. I watched her take a step towards the stone building my father and I had built with our own two hands, and I followed directly behind her. Diana moved with grace and poise, but the tension was gone from her shoulders. She seemed more relaxed. More in tune with her surroundings. Not as uptight as she usually was.
She looked at home in this fanciful setting. And not even I could deny the beauty that idea afforded her.
