Something pulled me from my deep, comfortable sleep. I’m not sure what it was, but suddenly I was wide-awake and staring at the shadows made by the light of the full moon through the trees. They played across the ceiling and walls hypnotically and for a long time I watched them and listened to the rhythmic sound of my husband’s breathing.
It was when he began snoring slightly that I finally got out of bed. Snoring drives me crazy and I resisted the urge to wake him. He’d been working so hard and really needed to sleep, I just couldn’t be that self-centered. As I pulled myself from the warmth of our bed, I glanced at the clock. It was just past midnight; I’d only been asleep for about an hour.
The French doors to the balcony were open and a warm breeze wafted over me, scented with the night blooming flowers I’d planted when we first moved into our dream home. I pulled my white silk robe around me and followed the fragrance onto the moonlight-drenched balcony.
I’ve never understood why people describe nighttime as being quiet. Summer nights are filled with sound… the wind chimes on the front porch tolled mournfully, countless crickets sang their songs of courtship, and in the tree above me a bird cooed. Was he calling for a mate?
I lifted my face to the sky and smiled up at the moon, breathing in the heady fragrance of the jasmine mixed with the cool earthy scent of the night. The breeze played through my hair with the familiarity of an old lover and pulled my diaphanous robe open. I made no move to cover my nakedness. No one lived close enough to see onto our balcony and there was a strange freedom in being nude outdoors.
Sighing contentedly, I smiled to myself. What was this feeling? Happiness? Bliss? My life was certainly far from perfect, but at the moment every day stresses were nowhere to be felt. I hummed the melody of our first dance from our wedding to myself and leaned on the railing to look upon my flower garden below.
Feeling the sudden need to walk through the dew-dampened grass and commune with my plants and flowers I began to turn to make my way downstairs. An arm around my waist stopped me in mid-motion and I was pulled into my husband’s embrace, his breath hot on my neck. I melted into him, resting my head in the crook of his neck.
“What are you doing up, Connor?” I whispered.
He nuzzled me, kissing my neck. “I woke up to hold you and you weren’t there,” he said in a soft voice.
