Francine

They were sat on the terrace, the sea shimmering before them, the sun catching the heads of waves, making them smile with vibrancy in its warmth, like the hand of a kindly uncle, tousling the hair on the head of his favourite nephew.

Life is good, he thought, and he looked over at Francine as she leant back her head, eyes closed, smiling serenely, the sun warming her cheeks.

My God, he loved her.

They'd been together for four years. Both of them had lost their spouses and their worlds had collided quite by accident. With Francine, he had found something far better than what he had had with his wife, although he would only admit this to himself and felt the pang of guilt as he did. Peg had been a good woman but she was no Francine.

He had an urge, borne of love, to share Francine with no-one, not that either of them were seeing anyone else. They practically lived together, never having a night away from each other, although Francine had insisted on keeping her house, despite the fact that most nights she spent at his.

And so, he leapt.

"Francine?"

"Mmm?" He felt a jolt, as a memory of her face in the throes of their love-making was evoked by her response. It spurred him on.

"Will you marry me?"

He watched her smile disappear, like a person falling from a cliff. She didn't move, eyes still closed, head back, body very still. And then, she started to drum her fingers very lightly on the arm of the chair. He knew this as a sign of irritation. How could he have irritated her?

Eventually, she turned, one eye squinting and softly said,

"Why are you asking me this now?"

He was taken aback by the question.

"Why not now?"

There was silence. He wanted to fill it but tension prevented him.

"No," she finally said. "I don't want to be owned again."

Emphasis was placed on "owned". He went to say more but struggled to find the words because he knew that that was what he wanted and he knew now that Francine saw him for what he was.

***

364 words

Thanks for stopping by! If you do read this, please leave a comment as I love to interact with my readers.

242/366