"I'm aware what the rules are. But you know that I will run...You know that I will follow you, over silbury hill, through the solar field... you know that I will follow you"
"Hey Jupiter, nothing's been the same. So are you gay, are you blue? Thought we both could use a friend to run to. And I thought I wouldn't have to be with you...something new."
It would be raining. Fuck it was raining like it would never end. The streets were empty ahead and behind, far as eyes would see.
He walked in the door, after another long day, jeans and button down soaked solid. Keys jingled softly as they fell atop a small wooden table. The apartment felt voluminous in its silence. He had left two weeks before, traveling again for work. Flying across the country& working 18 hour days was beginning to take its toll. It had already cost him friends, and his last lover. There was a simple beauty, though, in the long hours, as they kept his mind focused on the tasks ahead.
Returning to the door, he saw the letter sitting on the floor, its edge peering up from among the typical bills. It was hand-sealed, with no return address, a novelty to be sure, in this digital age of email and text messages. He picked it up & caught a faint scent, something half remembered and delicious. Not now...I'll wait. There's so much to do and the dog needs a walk and here he is sitting down with a long saved bottle opened just long enough. His pocket knife slipped out, and sliced open the seal.
It was like she had stepped into the room across all the miles between. It had been years, but the handwriting leapt out at him like a coiled viper, striking him in the heart. What had it been, 2 years since the last time he saw her, since he stood at her back door and watched it closed in front of him? And why now? Why now? Yet...Her words were soft and smooth in his mind, the sound of her voice still sounded the same after the long absence. And why not? Behind and under everything else, she was there. She was always there. Even in the arms of another he could not lose her entirely. No matter the distance, time, or other companionship, it was always her.