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Lance watched Kate pull the strap of her sling-back up to her ankle, and push herself up from the edge of the bed. Running her hands down her thighs to smooth her skirt made his breath catch in his throat.
She was here.
In the small but comfortable house he had closed on three months ago.
She was here, but not really.
One drawer, a toothbrush, a small collection of favorite books on her side of the nightstand but nothing more that would prove that she was as invested as he was.
And today she was fidgeting, applying lipstick in the mirror as her hand shook ever so slightly.
Lance walked over to calm the tremor. But when he reached for her; she pushed his hand away and locked eyes with him in the glass.
“Kate?”
“I’m sorry…” she started and his stomach fell.
“About what baby?”
She turned to him, the smell of her perfume making him dizzy with desperation.
“I don’t…” she said and stopped. “…I’m not sure…” and then raised her voice pleading. “Lance?”
“Oh, Katie.” His voice so soft he hoped she would lean in to hear it, “please don’t do this.”
Instead she dropped the lipstick in her makeup case; turning her back to him.
“I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”
Lance felt the first sting of her doubt hit him in the middle of his chest, “I thought you loved me. That we loved each other.”
“I do.” She said, the catch in her voice telling him that the tears had started to flow down her beautifully made up cheeks. “I’ve always loved you; I don’t think I’ll ever stop.”
“But…?”
“But I have things to lose. Anthony, my family, Zach.”
Hearing her mention her small son’s name brought the second blow to his middle. “I’m not asking you to give up Zach.”
“What we’re doing might hurt him.”
“Kate, listen to me. I’m sorry I married Sara. I stayed too long, trying to do the right thing. Please don’t make the same mistake. “
He watched her face crumble as the sobs came. “I waited so long for Zach, Lance. He’s my heart.”
“I know, baby and I would never ask you to leave him.” He said. “But Anthony?”
“Anthony loved me, even when he knew that I’d never gotten over you. He’s Zach’s father and my husband.”
Lance sighed, “Don’t play games with me Kate, do you fucking love Anthony?”
She turned and he looked into those deep blue eyes.
“You don’t.”
“ No, but I don’t know if that means I have a choice…”
“A choice? I don’t mean enough to you to be worthy of a fucking choice?”
Katie choked back her sobs,“You? You mean so much to me that I’m willing to give up everything to be with you … I love you Lance.”
“Then the choice is easy.” Lance said, choking back his own tears.
This week at WRITE ON EDGE, the prompt was about THE FORBIDDEN OR TABOO, but let’s be honest, Gathering Buttercups is all about the forbidden: Divorce, An affair, Loving a man younger than you (GO Charlotte) and Love kept away for close to two decades. So I decided to just give Kate some good old fashioned guilt this week, let’s see how long that lasts shall we?
Ahhh, the guilt. Always have to have the guilt creep back in.
Great scene Kir. It felt authentic, lots of emotions, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Not that I don;t want to see them end up together but there needs to be some agony about it.
We need the husband to find out or something…fireworks! More explosions
seriously, I need to learn how to spell my email :p
I’m glad that it’s coming across this way, I’m glad that all of you are seeing the love, passion beneath the guilt. Her idea of what “doing the right thing” is not what everyone would agree with I think, but in the coming installments we’ll get to see the guilt, the letting go and of course Anthony finding out. Love is full of agony isn’t it??? It makes it feel much more real.
The choice was easy for Lance. he never really loved Sara, and his boy is grown – Lance has nothing to lose. Kate is in a different place. Her son is much younger and although Anthony isn’t the love of her life, he gave her the life she wanted. She has significnatly more to lose than Lance does. If he really loved her he’d see that.
Nicely written btw – I love that Kate is conflicted.
my voice of reason and rationality. Where is that hopeless romantic I know lurks inside you Tiin???
yes, she’s conflicted, for now. I think it was time for her to think about what she’s feeling and how it will affect her life. It’s essentially her turn to “do the right thing” but I think that her definition of that isn’t what you think.
First of all it’s like 100 degrees out and that is not why I’m fanning myself!!! Oh my their chemistry is still streaming hot. So much is forbidden in this piece. I feel the deep sultry yet genuine passion and love and the deep conflict. So what happens next?? Do I really have to wait until next week??
well yes, you do have to wait…sorry. But I promise that i will write little tidbits until then, 100 word song, 100 word challenge etc.
also, I’m glad that within this there is proof of the love they have for one another…that it won’t be easy …but it just miht be worth it.
I love the honesty of this moment. Passion tempered by responsibility is achingly authentic.
I’m glad that came through, that you can see the conflict within the forbidden parts of what they are feeling.
I’d like to see this explored a little more, if he understands exactly what he’s asking her to give up. After all, the only reason she’s even with Anthony is because of what Lance did, you know?
hi there, was going to call you to discuss that part, but yes, lit Lance knows what she is giving up, but he feels it’s only her marriage and he wants to give her that…or something close to it. For her, it’s her turn to “do the right thing” and I wonder what she feels that is. She loves Lance, and always has. Hmmmm…….
How is it that these fictional characters make heart and belly ache so badly? I know Lance leaving Kate to do the “right” thing lead Kate to Anthony. I know they both married the wrong people and that is why I want them to be together so badly. I also feel conflicted like Kate is right now though because I keep thinking of how badly Anthony is going to feel when he truly realizes his love was never enough…even when he gave Kate the one thing she had waited so long for (Zach). There is just so much heartache and love in this story. You braid it all beautifully.
I feel like you, believe it or not. When they “talk” to me, when they tell me things or share their secrets, I feel all their emotions too.
for me, it’s just nice to have you here…to have you with me reading alongside me and enjoying the ride. It means a lot, to know that you like this story. So thank you for being invested…thank you so much. xoxo
Seriously? You CANNOT keep doing this to me. You know why I can’t come here every time you post? Because I go completely batcrap crazy. I want to know what happens next. Like… right. now. So I wait, like a good girl, and read a few at a time. And then… I still want to know what happens next. I’m going to take a cold shower. And then cry. For Kate. And Lance. too people I don’t know. But I LOVE!!! And I love you!!!
First, I’m sorry. I am…I wish I could pound out the whole story for you…and give you all the closure you want, but I am still not sure how this ends
but I love you too, love you even more for coming over to read it and then tell me you really like it. That means more to me than this ever seeing the light of day.
TRULY, my friend. TRULY. xoxo
I don’t think she would be human if she didn’t feel some guilt. That just makes her more real.
I was waiting for YOU, to see if this rang true and authentic for you, so glad it did. I really do love that you are enjoying the story.
Really enjoyed your writing here Kir! I don’t know the back story, but just what you shared here was enough to peak my interest and make me want to read more about these characters! Well done.