Something I'm thinking of working on...
Ships Passing
It had been years since their last encounter but none of them had an effect on how beautiful she was to him. Her eyes, warm and glassy from what looked like tears forming, held a story he could probably guess the ending of. He had heard the rumors about Don, the affairs, the whispers of illegitimate children, all the things he always knew would happen. Perhaps now she knew them too. "What is she doing here?" he thought.
The reason didn't matter; she had to leave. He had made a life here, a happy life, and it wouldn't remain that way if she stayed. Albeit the wrong one, she had made her choice and he had made his. The fact that she finally realized that wasn't going to be his undoing or that of his family. Darren nodded casually in her direction as they passed each other through the gate and continued toward his front door without so much as a backward glance.
He could feel the power of her stare digging into him but he could not return it; he would not return it. Burying the part of him that longed to run to her had been the hardest thing he ever had to do and that work wouldn't be for nothing or at the expense of Florence and the girls. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time and he had to drive that message home.
He opened the door, escaping into the safety of his house, and stood just to the side of it to obscure himself from view. After a few moments, he carefully peeked out of the window to see her still standing there, her head down and eyes tightly shut with tears running down her face. Had he been right? Was she there to finally say all the things he had dreamed she would so many years ago?
Before he could think anymore, Penelope bounded into him, his small arms wrapped around his leg and her smile beaming up at him. He scooped her up in his arms and squeezed her as if she might disappear. This was what he had chosen and this was what was at stake if he ever thought of entertaining what stood outside that door. He held his daughter even tighter as he turned to look through the widow again. Cassandra was gone.
