I don't know why my stories dissappeared from the site, so I will try to repost them again, one or two chapters at a time. I know you may have read them aleady, but I have done a lot of editing since I last posted. Positive and negative feedback always welcome. Enjoy.
I
It was a warm Sunday afternoon in the beginning of September. The leaves had just begun to change and the trees were vibrant with color. The sound of lawn-mowers and the scent of freshly-cut grass filled the air. My husband, Gabriel, and I were outside planting bulbs, tulips and daffodils, that we hoped would bloom in the spring. Our neighbors busied themselves with the chores that accompany a suburban lifestyle.
Gabriel and I were almost done with the bulbs when we heard two small children behind us. We looked up and saw that our next-door neighbors' kids had come out to play on their swing set. Travis, their father, turned off his lawn mower and began to push three-year-old Samuel on the swings. The girl, Madison, insisted she was old enough to swing on her own; a "big girl" at five.
When Gabriel and I had finished planting, we stood up. Travis waved to us and started walking over. We met him halfway so he wouldn't have to stray too far from his young children. We went through the standard suburbanite greeting routine, and then started talking about the big football game last Sunday; we couldn't believe how our Cleveland Browns, upset the undefeated New York Giants. We also talked about the cold weather that was headed our way and the rain that was in the forecast for the next couple nights.
Travis mentioned his annual neighborhood party coming up this Saturday and invited us to stop over.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Travis's wife, Leah, walk out the sliding glass door from their dining room and head toward our impromptu gathering. As soon as I saw her, my heart skipped a beat. I'd always thought Leah was one of the most gorgeous women in the world. She had the "girl-next-door" look, that I found very attractive. I was in heaven anytime she was around, though, to my disappointment, we weren't close friends.
As she walked over, I thought about just how striking of a housewife she was, and compared her to my average body. Leah was about two inches shorter than me and about twenty pounds lighter. My brown hair fell just below my shoulder blades, while her blonde hair rested on the top of her shoulders. Both of our eyes were blue, although hers were much deeper than mine. Leah's birthday had just hit a few weeks ago, making her thirty-two. I was seven years her junior.
As soon as she reached us, we started up the welcoming formalities and small talk again. When that was complete, Leah asked if I had a few minutes. "Of course," I responded.
Leah motioned for me to follow her back into the house after asking her husband to please make sure to keep an eye on the kids. I followed Leah as Travis and Gabriel walked back over to Samuel and Madison. As I left to follow Leah, I heard the two men start talking about ways to keep their grass green over the winter as they pushed the kids on the swings.
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Gabriel and I had bought our house nearly three years ago, about six months after we got married. Our three-bedroom, two-bathroom split level was located outside of Akron, Ohio, about forty-five minutes southeast of Cleveland. Gabriel worked thirty minutes to the west of our house, while I made the trek to downtown Cleveland and back every day. We could have moved further north, but both of us loved where we lived. All of our neighbors were extremely friendly, and small group of us did try to get together every so often, despite not always managing to do so. It went unspoken, though, that the whole neighborhood was there for each other; a very safe and inviting place in which to live. Gabe and I couldn't wait to have kids of our own and raise them here. We had no plans to move, especially not anytime soon.
This was good, because I would really miss seeing Leah around if we ever did move. I don't exactly remember when I first realized that I was interested in Leah in this way. I didn't remember having these types of feelings for other women before. Yeah, there were women I found attractive, but Leah...she just completely changed my way of thinking.
From the first moment I met her, the day Gabriel and I moved into our house, I knew she was a special woman. Travis and Leah came over to introduce themselves and the kids, back when Samuel was still a tiny infant. However, although I found her to be an extremely attractive woman, I don't remember giving any thought to wanting to be with her at the time.
It wasn't until a few months back that I really yearned to spend time with Leah, and I began to think and thus dream of her constantly. It was right after I spent an afternoon with her and the kids in her front yard playing kickball because Travis was on a business trip and they needed a fourth player. I'm not sure exactly what triggered it; was it the fact I spent a few hours with her? Or the fact that I saw the unending love she displays for her children. All I know is after that I wanted to be the one to take care of her and support her, Madison, and Samuel. Unfortunately, I also knew there wasn't a chance it would ever happen.
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As I followed Leah back into her house, I had a gut feeling something was wrong. Leah and I had known each other since Gabriel and I had moved to the neighborhood, and she was often in my dreams, but I knew it was not a mutual feeling: I was attracted to her, but knew the feelings weren't reciprocal. Leah just didn't seem like the type that would ever consider being with another woman. We hung out every so often, but usually only when we were with Travis and Gabriel. About once every two or three months, our families got together with another couple in the neighborhood at one of our houses for dinner, drinks and a movie. We also talked when we saw each other outside; once in a while I'd come over to play with the kids and her, but I never got any inkling that she liked me as more than just a neighbor.
Leah walked into the kitchen toward the sink. She stood with her back to me, hands on the counter. I leaned against the opposite counter, my hands resting behind me. I stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes.
I could hear Leah start to sniffle as if she was about to cry, so I moved toward the sink and leaned against the counter next to her, but I didn't look at her. Not that I didn't want to; I was just worried about making her self-conscious with my gaze.
"What's going on, Leah?" I finally asked.
"I'm sick of this," Leah replied, not looking at me. "I'm sick of living a lie."
"I'm sorry?" I responded. I was very confused.
What lie was Leah living? She and Travis were the epitome of the ideal American family everyone wants: married, two kids, a nice house in suburbia, USA.
When Leah didn't answer me, I looked up at her and noticed that she was staring out the kitchen window. I followed her gaze outside and saw Gabriel pushing Leah's kids on the swings. I couldn't see Travis from where I was standing.
"Can you do me a favor?" Leah asked as she turned to look at me, her eyes watery and red.
"Of course," I said sincerely, placing my hand on her upper arm. "Anything you want."
She walked over to the dining room buffet to her purse and dug through it. After pulling out her wallet, she grabbed a twenty and handed it to me.
