Marcie And Leo Ch 139

I know I have said it before, but every day isn't perfect.

There are days even this far along since both Marcie and I lost our significant others where we have one of those days. I have written before about Marcie having a few of those. The times she gets in "her bubble" are not as frequent as they used to be. They do still catch me by surprise though. I appreciate the fact that now that I live with her, I can tell right away, and we can work through it to an extent.

We don't argue that much either. Part of the reason is because we both have that appreciation of life being short and that a trivial thing isn't worth being angry about. It is a refreshing thing to be involved in, given that both of us had previous marriages. Although we love our departed spouses, it was kind of like we worked out some of our preferences with them prior to us starting our lives together.

When I came home from work that day, Marcie was in the dining area. She had a glass of wine partially filled as she sat there. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. I started to approach before I heard her whisper.

"Phone."

When we were dating and at different houses, it was easy to tell when the bubble was up. She would usually send a text to warn me. Usually, it consisted of a few emojis. Lately, however, I have been lax in checking my phone when I arrived home. When I saw the emojis as we used to do, I felt my heart sink. Because of my laziness, I couldn't take any action to bring dinner home. I looked at her and saw her face as she looked at me. In that moment, I acted.

The first thing I did was go to the refrigerator to see what I could whip up for dinner. I saw salad fixings as well as some starter ideas in there. I also saw that there wasn't much protein that was defrosted. I knew I had the option of getting something delivered, but there was a part of me that didn't want to. This felt like a chance to prove that the two years of marriage and our courtship was not wasted by a lack of paying attention.

I spied the chicken nuggets in the freezer. It was weird that it was in there until I remembered that there were times her nieces and nephews would visit. I grabbed a box before looking at the instructions prior to turning on the oven. I also set up the rice cooker to start some rice while I started to brainstorm. During this time, I was concentrating. I turned around and saw the hint of a smile on her face before I noticed the wine glass was almost empty.

I poured her a glass of water before dropping in a few ice cubes. After setting it in front of her, I poured a half glass of wine. In my mind, I wanted her to stay hydrated. I also wanted her to be comfortable as well. I then put the nuggets in the oven before I went back to the refrigerator.

It was during this that my phone rang. I looked at the display and saw that it was Aubrey. As I was ready to pick it up, I saw Marcie's face. I chose to let it go to voicemail just to make sure I was able to get dinner done. In my mind, if it was work related, it could wait. It was then I remembered that we had some frozen egg rolls in the freezer compartment. I grabbed the box and looked at the instructions to determine when to put them in the oven after the nuggets.

By the time I was almost finished, I had some rice, chicken nuggets mixed with sweet and sour sauce, and eggrolls. As I plated, there was a knock at the door. I looked at Marcie before I walked towards the door. When I reached it, there was Aubrey and Wes on the other side. I bid them to come in. Without warning, Aubrey went straight to Marcie and held out her arms. Marcie paused for a moment, then she pressed in for a hug. Wes gave me a look and all I could do was shrug.

I invited the couple to stay for dinner, which they accepted. We shared a bit of conversation before I could see Marcie's smile begin to show. As the conversation continued, I felt her hand under the table squeezing mine. I could feel the pressure releasing inside my chest as we continued to relax. It was a little while before the newlyweds said their goodbyes. There we were again, just her and I before she walked towards me and pressed herself against me.

"I'm sorry, Leo. I..." she started before I hugged her tight.

We stayed there, just me holding her. There was no time being felt. There was just us. As we stood there, I just felt her warmth against me. This was what we were there for each other for. Two grieving souls just supporting each other. The way our relationship evolved after just being neighbors. It was the primary thing we did for each other before our relationship evolved again. No matter how long we would stay together, we would always have each other when our minds caused us to grieve our late spouses.

"Leo, can we sit down now?" she asked.

I led us to the couch so we could both sit. It turned into me laying down and her body on top of mine holding her. I could feel the equilibrium returning in a sense. Marcie just lay there quietly on top of me while the quiet enveloped us.

"That was a pretty good dinner, Leo," she whispered.

I squeezed her tighter.

"I had to think fast. I didn't see my phone until I saw you."

She looked into my eyes and the sparkle was back.

"You're getting better. So, what would you like to do the rest of the night?"

I held her tighter. The night would take care of itself. As long as I had her.