Girl in the Window - 3
the four-minute conclusion
The Girl in the Window - Part 3
The neon lights of the bistro above the harbor flash off the water like night music. Jeremy and Lucy are sitting together on a bench listening to the creak of sailboats bobbing in their berths on the rising tide. Halyards are slapping against masts, a chorus of tuneless clanking at midnight.
Their hands are clasped together, fingers tentative, restless. They met only seven hours ago, and neither wants to say good night. Yet, neither is willing to be the one to suggest they go home together. They listen to the warning tone of the distant buoys, watch the rhythmic blink of the lighthouse at the end of the jetty. The gangplanks down to the boats are dark and deserted at this hour, but little groups of over-stimulated people are leaving the bars now, stumbling, laughing a little too loudly, trying to remember where they left their cars.
“So… about that ring, Jeremy.”
“What?”
“The ring. On your finger?”
“Oh…yes, the ring.”
“Is your wife wondering where you are? Is she waiting for you to come home?”
“Not really.”
“But… you’re married?”
“Well, in a way, I guess.”
“In what way would that be, exactly?”
“I had a wife. Clare. I lost her almost two years ago in February. I just can’t seem to take the ring off. I tried, you know, but it felt like I was erasing her, and everything we’d had together. It was too soon.”
“She died?”
“Yes, she did.”
“I’m wondering how I fit in, then.”
“Lucy, you are the only girl I’ve noticed in twenty months. It’s embarrassing to me, and scary how I’ve been watching you, but I couldn’t say anything.”
“No worries. I understand.”
As they head out to whatever awaits them in Jeremy’s basement apartment, Lucy thinks about his ring, what it symbolizes to him. And she’s willing to see what happens. They’ve both had their hearts broken before, after all.
She thinks about her own ring, the one at home, that she took off and put in her dresser drawer. She’ll eventually tell Jeremy about her husband, but not tonight. Just not tonight.
Late Night Meditation, Bremer / McCoy
A lot happened in those seven hours and I'm sure that these two will be able to put their pasts behind them. I enjoyed the description of the harbor and, as a sailor, the sound of the halyards slapping against the masts. Very evocative writing, Sharron.
I did see videos of the disaster at the Santa Cruz pier. What a shame that it is gone and that a life apparently was lost. I hope it can be restored.
Wow, I just love that kind of story, Sharron. So much said without being said. So much depth, and sadness, and want, from both of them. A perfect little Romance.