Page 51 of Watercolor Skulls

After we each finish our wine I notice Angela starting to stare off again. “You ready for bed, sweetheart,” Ray asks her.

“Do I sleep here?” she asks him, confused.

Dan tenses next to me.

Ray kneels down in front of her, taking her hands in his. “You do. I’m a lucky guy because you and I are roommates.”

Her head drops and she hides behind her silver hair, giggling. “I don’t even know you,” she says shyly.

“But you want to don’t you?” he asks, full out flirting with his wife.

She nods, holding her hand out to him. He pulls her out of the chair and twirls her around the living room a few times, leading her in a silent dance. Her eyes lock on his and I see what he means. She may not remember she is married to this man, but she loves him none the less.

Ray hollers over his shoulder, “See you two in the morning.”

“Goodnight,” I answer as they disappear into their bedroom.

Dan doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t even move. After several minutes of silence, I slide onto his lap, straddling him. I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tight. His body trembles as he tries to keep his emotions from spilling out. “I’ve got you,” I whisper in his ear. “I won’t let you fall.”

He tightens his grip around me. We stay like this for a long, long time. Eventually, he pushes me off his lap gently. We quietly make our way into his room. He closes the door behind us. It’s dark as we undress each other. Both of us needing to feel the other, skin to skin, soul to soul.

We slide into his bed and cling to each other. Whatever is happening between the two of us is strange, it’s powerful, it’s wonderful. I left home, hoping to forget the past, to find a new home, maybe discover who I was…I never expected this.Please, please don’t take it away from me.

Chapter Twenty

Dan

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Sometimes you go through life on autopilot. That was what I did until I met Jesse. She opened up my heart a tiny bit. Just enough for Lily to slip through. Now it’s been blown clean open. I’m fucking terrified.

If I hadn’t met Jesse first I don’t know that I would have paid Lily much attention. I had a one track mind. Work, work, work. Then Jesse reminded me how much I needed people in my life. Friends and family.

It was not quite a year ago that I sat on the dock, watching dragonflies dart over the lake. I pulled out my sketch book and went to work, thinking about the dragonfly story Raffe had once told me. I wished and prayed I would meet someone. Maybe someone as sweet as my mother.

Then Lily showed up wanting a dragonfly tattoo. If that’s not fate then I don’t know what the fuck is. Lily has a kind soul. She has a way with people. Especially people who are different. Jackson, JD…my mom. God, seeing how she interacted with my mother made my chest ache.

I need to learn everything there is to know about her. Bits and pieces are all I get. I want more.

My crazy ass wants to storm the walls around her heart and then stick my flag in it, effectively claiming it for myself.

When we woke up this morning she insisted I go to breakfast with my dad. She stayed at the house with my mom and they baked cinnamon rolls. My dad was ecstatic to spend the morning with me. I guess I hadn’t really thought about how all this affected him.

I found Lily and my mom going through scrapbooks when we returned. They were both laughing and drinking coffee at the table. I thought maybe my mom would remember me, but she didn’t. That’s not entirely true, she remembered, but she thought I was ten. She kept asking my dad if it was time to pick me up from school.

When we left I promised my dad I would come home more often. He said he wanted to come visit me too but wasn’t sure how mom would react away from her familiar surroundings.

If it weren’t for Lily I don’t know if I would have went home. With her by my side I felt like I could do it. I can’t explain it. Just know that she brings a peace to my heart.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asks as I drop her off at her house.

“Yeah, thanks for going with me.”

“It was so much fun, and I loved meeting your family.” Her smile drops, she turns away from me, hoping I don’t notice but I do. I notice everything about her.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I wish I had a family for you to meet.” Her big brown eyes swim in sadness. It breaks my big fucking heart.

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