Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“Good. Until I noticed you were gone.”
My arms hooked across her lower back above her ass, and I squeezed her to me. I loved her height, but I loved her petiteness too, the deep curve in her lower back, the muscles in her ass, the little divot over her spine. I kissed her, lowering my head to meet her lips when she was barefoot. “Hungry?”
“Always.”
I gave her ass a playful smack. “Attagirl.” I turned back to the desk. “I’ve got to take care of some things. It’ll be a few hours.” I wanted to blow off everything for her, but unfortunately, I didn’t have that luxury.
“That’s okay,” she said. “I have, like, a million edits to do. Can I bring my computer in here?”
She didn’t skirt away. Didn’t assume I didn’t want her around. And that made my chest feel warm. “Of course, sweetheart.”
She retrieved her bag and sat on the edge of the couch. Then she pulled out her laptop and her cameras and got to work.
Medusa opened her eyes from the other couch and decided to join Aurelia instead. She curled up next to Aurelia on the couch, her chin almost on her thigh.
Aurelia smiled and petted Medusa on the back of the neck, that affectionate warmth in her eyes. She grabbed her camera and then changed the lens before she pointed it down at Medusa. “Look at me, honey.”
Medusa tilted her head back and looked right into the lens.
The camera clicked when she got the shot. “Wow, you’re a natural.” She smiled, then gave Medusa another rubdown before she set the camera aside.
I should be focused on my laptop, but all I could do was stare at the two of them.
My girls.
We worked together in comfortable silence for hours. When Elio brought breakfast, we worked while we ate. I usually had an egg-white omelet with my coffee, and all she had was coffee and a side of fruit.
Elio returned to retrieve Medusa for her afternoon walk, and then it was just the two of us in my study.
I closed my laptop and joined her on the couch. “Show me what you’ve been working on.”
“Oh, I don’t think my kids’ birthday party is that interesting,” she said with a chuckle. “No French emperors or Skull Kongs there.”
“Skull King,” I said with a smile. “But I think I like Kong better.” I patted her thigh. “Show me some of your recent favorites.”
“Well . . .” She closed out of the photo she was working on and moved to her desktop, where she had folders and more folders. Folders within folders. She was definitely organized. She opened a folder labeled Favorites and then clicked on the first picture there. “I feel the best photos are ones where the subject doesn’t know they’re being photographed. I’m not exactly sure what was going on with this couple, but it looks like she got cold feet and he came to talk to her. They didn’t know I was still in the room.” It was a picture of a young couple, him in a suit and her in her wedding dress, and she was sobbing. An ugly cry. But he looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Just pure love in his eyes. “The way he looks at her . . . I can’t even describe it.”
“Yeah, I see what you mean.”
She clicked on another. It was an older woman who looked sick and emaciated and had lost all her hair. She stood at the open window with the sunshine pouring through, highlighting her pale skin. It looked like she could barely remain standing, clinging to the ledge with twiglike fingers.
I immediately knew who she was.
Aurelia swallowed as she looked at the picture. “I came down the hallway to check on her . . . it was the first time I’d seen her stand in a long time. She could have fallen and broken something, but . . . I just let her have her moment instead. It’s the last picture I took of her. She was gone the next day.” She swallowed again, her eyes starting to tear up like the wound was still raw. Then she quickly clicked on the picture and minimized it, as if she couldn’t look at it anymore.
I could feel the ache of her pain like it was my own. Feel the weight of loneliness she carried on her shoulders. We were two different bodies, but it felt like we had the same soul for that moment in time. “Sweetheart.” I pulled her into me and pressed a kiss to her hairline. I let my lips linger there as I held her close, as I tried to take away her pain in whatever way I could.
She took a slow breath and blinked back the tears. “Some days I’m okay . . . and then other days I’m not.”