Seeing You III

Victor did not know what Michelle was thinking. Back when they were a couple, he could tell, at any point, what was on her mind. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Of course, he knew she loved him, could tell that much in the way she returned his kiss, but he rubbed his sore cheek. Had he pushed her too far? His mind was on the distant past and the day he finally convinced her to be his girl. It had taken months of planning and work to prove that he was worth it, and when she finally said yes, he almost jumped for joy.

Her Grandma Mary had not lied when she mentioned how much of a fool he made of himself the first time he met Michelle. Victor remembered the first time he laid eyes on one Michelle O’Connell, back eleven years ago when she had just moved here to go to school. It was as though she had been made just for him with beautiful, curly brown hair and eyes. Even back then, she had a wonderfully curvy body with a kind personality, but it was the intelligence behind those oaken brown eyes that drew him in like a moth to a flame.

Victor fell hard and fast for her, tripping over himself just to say hello and waking up early every morning just to walk with her to school. Anything he could do to be in her presence he would do without any regrets. Back when she left seven years ago, he had been devastated, and felt like she took his heart with her. When Grandma Edith tried to set him up, he simply ignored her attempts and told her straight that there was only one woman he wanted to be with. Michelle O’Connell kept his heart with her, even now as she looked at the flowers on the coffin.

Looking at her expression, of course she was sad about Grandma Edith, especially since grandma was as nice to her as she was her own grandson. Victor wanted to reach out, to hold her in his arms again, but the sore cheek was a reminder of him pushing too hard. Of course, he was upset over losing his grandmother, however, since Michelle had first made her appearance after being gone for seven years, all of him was focused on her. It was not something he could help, or even control, and he felt that was due to her.

Miss Mary had told him about the marriages when they happened. Victor had known what Michelle had dealt with during both of her divorces. He had faced his own issues with her marriages, like jealousy and anger, but it was nothing in comparison to what she was going through. Especially in the first marriage. When Victor found out about her abusive husband, it had taken everything he had not to go find her and kill that guy. Sure, Michelle was the one that had to learn to overcome that, but it was a natural instinct for him to want to protect her.

“Your grandma was really kind.” Michelle whispered, her eyes remaining on the casket. “I’ll miss her.”

“Yeah. Sorry about…”

“Don’t worry about it. Even after all this time, you really haven’t changed much at all.” Victor could not help but watch her as she talked, even though she was not looking at him. “We’re not even together anymore and you’re just as possessive and charged as you were back then.”

“I…just can’t seem to help it when it comes to you.” He replied, turning his eyes to the casket. “You’ve always had that effect on me.”

“So, you’re blaming me?” When her eyes turned to meet his gaze, he swallowed thickly. “I don’t recall ever having any kind of effect on you.”

Victor chuckled softly, before closing his eyes and leaning against the wall. Of course, she would have no idea exactly how bad he wanted her. When they were teenagers, their relationship had been mostly chaste with the exception being their shared kisses. That caused him yet another problem, because he could still taste her flavor on his lips and he felt the urge for more build up within him. Sighing softly, he opened his eyes to meet hers and a corner of his lips lifted slightly. Crossing his arms over his chest, he looked at her from head to toe.

“You just don’t realize exactly how strong I feel for you.” Victor countered watching as she looked away. “It is because I love you that I can’t help but want to be the only man in your eyes.”

“And I told you…”

“That you don’t want to be with me.” He finished, shaking his head slightly. “Your mouth lies, but your kisses don’t.”

“It’s not that I don’t WANT to…” Michelle hesitated, stroking her elbow in her usual anxious gesture. “It’s that I’m not right for you anymore.”

“And who are you to decide that?” Victor shot back, reaching over to grab her wrist. “Just because you were married twice to two morons does not mean you don’t deserve me.”

He watched as her mouth snapped closed, her usual full lips thinning out to a line. Victor knew she viewed things logically, but she was thinking about what others would say if he took on another man’s ex-wife. The truth was, Victor did not care who she was with before she showed up again, the only thing he cared about was her. It had been that way for years, and would continue to be that way until he died. Michelle was the only woman he could focus on, and most definitely was the only one he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.

“If you think, for one second, I care what other people say…” He continued, his hand shifting down to her hand to interlock their fingers. “Then marry me.”

Michelle’s eyes could have gotten no wider than they were in that moment. Of course, he did not expect her to say yes, or even understand his thought process, but he wanted her to know he was taking it seriously. Her beautiful lips parted as she took in a breath, and she seemed frozen in place. Disbelief flitted across her features before she shook her head no and looked back over at the casket holding his grandmother. Victor knew she did not believe him, but he had been honest as always. He had always planned on marrying her even back then.

“Do you think I’m joking?” He whispered watching her body shiver. “Because you are the only person I would ever marry.”

“What, are you saying that to get back at me?” She questioned back in a harsh whisper of her own. “Because I did marry two other people and ended up screwed up because of it.”

“No, I’m saying that to prove it. In fact, I still have the engagement ring I was going to give you back in high school.” Victor countered hotly, leaning over her shoulder as he talked. “But we got interrupted back then. I love you, Michelle O’Connell. I can’t just turn that off because you ask me to.”

“What, you want to marry her?” A voice interrupted her before she could answer causing him to quickly grow annoyed. “Why? She’s used up goods.”

It was the woman Michelle’s ex-husband had come with, wearing a completely out of place black cocktail dress that was cut low in the front. The woman clearly did not care to put down Michelle right in front of her, which only made Victor even more irritated. Why was this woman here? She had no business at a funeral of a person she did not even know. Michelle was keeping her mouth shut, her lips a thin line when the woman walked closer to him and smiled flirtatiously. The expression made him want to throw up.

“Like you’re any better, after all, you’re with her ex-husband.” Victor said before wrapping his arm around Michelle’s waist to pull her closer to him. “So, why don’t you scoot back over to the whole reason you came here and leave the people that belong here alone?”

The woman glared at Michelle before turning her nose up and walking away. Victor pulled her towards himself and started walking up to the casket where Grandma Edith was. The casket had been closed per grandma’s request and he felt glad for it, because he knew Michelle did not like bodies. When he felt her shiver next to him, he looked down to find her eyes focused on the hand on her waist, not the casket itself. Tilting his head down to her, he tried to catch his attention, but then he noticed exactly what was bothering her. Everyone in the building was staring.

“Ignore it, Elle.” He whispered into her ear before turning his attention to the casket. “Grandma Edith, I told you Elle would come, didn’t I? You were asking about her before you passed away. You wanted to see her again.”

“Vic, what are you doing?” Michelle whispered harshly; her eyes focused on the ground. “Your going to cause a scene.”

“Even though Michelle broke up with me, she came back and you always wanted to see us together again.” Victor continued, ignoring her protests. “So, here we are. I promised you I’d find a way for us to be together again, just for you, Grandma Edith.”

Michelle went quiet at that, causing him to smirk down at her. All he had to do was just what he did back in the day. Victor knew he was close, but he did not seem to know how to break through her final defense. She nervously tucked a hair behind her ear and kept her head down. Her discomfort was clear, but since he spoke up, everyone that was watching turned their attention back to their own conversations. Just under the collar of her down jacket, he could see the red mark he had left earlier. Feeling slightly apologetic, he brushed her hair forward slightly to cover it up with his free hand.

“I’m ready to go.” Michelle whispered, her voice sounding odd. “I’m a little hungry.”

He nodded, before turning them around and making his way back through the chapel to the door. On the way out, Victor came up with a plan to remind Michelle of their times together. In an instant, he felt like a high schooler all over again, excitedly planning their first date. Victor could feel someone glaring at him as he pulled her closer and when he turned to find out who it was, he found himself in a staring match with her ex-husband. With a smirk, he leaned closer to her ear, wanting to give the idiot something to think about.

“I’ll take you to your favorite spot then, Elle.” He said loud enough for her ex to catch. “Then, I’ll take you home.”

Of course, he knew that could be misleading, but did not care and loved watching the scowl form on Matthew’s lips. Michelle did not have to worry about what anyone thought of her. She had long since made her own way into the world and was successful for it. Victor thought about what he had done since she left, but it really did not seem like much. Sure, he was as good as his father at fixing cars, maybe a little better, however, his mind remained stuck on her while she moved forward. It was like he was frozen in time and the key to getting passed it was her.

He remembered back when they first got together. Feeling like he had tasted success, he invited her on a date around town. It had taken him months to convince her, so he wanted to prove it was worthwhile. Michelle had just moved to the town and still did not know all of the good spots, so he took her around to show her. As they walked through the doors of the very café, he took her first that day, he smiled slightly. Maybe if he recreated the magic of that first date, it would not be difficult to convince her to be his again.

“For someone that’s supposed to be in mourning, you sure seem quite pleased with yourself.” Michelle whispered as he led her over to the booth they used in high school. “You don’t act upset over Edith’s passing at all.”

“Believe it or not, Grandma Edith has been sick with cancer for a while, Elle. My entire family has had time to adjust and though it does hurt, it’s not as bad as it would have been had her passing been unexpected.” Victor said as the waitress came over. “Grandma wouldn’t have wanted us to suffer too terribly when she did pass. She told me she wanted everyone to smile.”

That seemed to make Michelle sink into thought. As they placed their orders, he watched as her eyes roamed the small café that was their usual haunt back in high school. Back then, they tried everything on the menu in order, several times over. When she ordered what was her favorite back then, a smirk lifted the corners of his lips. As much as she claims to be a different person, she still had the same tastebuds. Victor leaned back against the booth and stared at her while she curled a lock of her hair around her finger. Every little thing she did was so reminiscent of who she used to be.

“Remember when we went to that little park next to the church?” He asked, feeling nostalgic. “If memory serves, that was where I kissed you first. It was at night, right after our first date.”

“Of course, I remember.” Michelle shot back, her cheeks flushing that same rosy color. “How could I forget? I ended up getting in trouble with grandma that night because I was out past curfew.”

“Haha, yeah, I got in trouble too. I remember my dad telling me that even though he knew I wasn’t getting into trouble; I should make sure you got home on time at least.” He laughed and that was when he noticed the small smile on her lips. “So, you CAN still smile. I was wondering whose butt I needed to kick to bring it back.”

As if realizing her mistake, she turned her head but it was too late. Victor had missed her far too much, that just seeing her again made his heart feel lighter. Looking again around the old café, he sighed softly, and tried to think of what he could do to make her smile more. Clearly, there was a lot they needed to talk about, but he did not know if she would listen. She was being really stubborn, though that was just another aspect of her personality that he really loved. What could he do to prove to her that he just wanted to be with her?

“Are you sure…it doesn’t bother you?” Her voice was quiet, her eyes averted. “You still want to be with me despite my ex-husbands?”

“Michelle, it would not matter to me if you had twenty ex-husbands. It’s always been you.” Victor returned, stealing her hand to press a kiss to the back of it. “Since I first met you, I was finished. No more second guessing. I want to be with you again.”

“Even…even if I’m different?”

“Even then. Give us one more shot. That’s really all I can ask.” He continued, his eyes on her face until she finally looked back at him. “If, after all this time, you truly have changed and it doesn’t work out, then I’ll give up. Just…don’t give up without even trying.”

He did not know what she would say to that. It seemed her choice was swaying though, and he knew he won the minute she asked if it bothered him. Doing his best to keep a straight face, he waited patiently for her answer. When she averted her eyes again, he felt a rush of butterflies, something he was extremely not familiar with. At least, not since she said goodbye. The answer he wanted seemed to be right on the tip of her tongue, and he was impatient to hear it. Finally, she turned back to him with a determined light in her eyes.

“I suppose I can start over with you.” Michelle said, her eyes focused on his. “But I still can’t ask you to give up this place for me.”

“Dad doesn’t plan on retiring for a few years, and to be honest, I’ve been wanting my own shop for a long time. Don’t consider it me giving up this town for you.” Victor replied calmly despite the happy dance he was doing in his head. “Consider it me not wanting to be my dad’s competition. I’ve been looking into good spots to buy in the city to open the shop, so it might be a while before I actually move there, but I’ll be moving into an apartment there soon.”

“Oh…what part of the City?” She wondered, her eyes falling to the table between them. “I live near my office, but I hardly ever leave the apartment.”

“Your job lets you work from home?” He questioned, before looking at the coffee in his hand. “Well, downtown seems to be the cheapest right now.”

“Looks like we’ll be close. And yeah, since I’m a lead editor for my company, I do most of my work at home.” Michelle’s eyes wandered back up to his face. “I love it so much.”

But that was not her dream and he knew it. For as long as he knew Michelle, she had always wanted to run her own magazine business, one that focused on small towns and villages to bring more tourism to places that needed business. Places like here, where they spent their formative years together. She might love her job, but had she given up on her true dream? Victor remembered listening for hours to her talk about becoming a lead editor for a magazine she created from the ground up. Even without the title of her boyfriend, he wanted to know what her thoughts were.

If you like this story, please take a look at part one:

https://vocal.media/humans/seeing-you

and part two:

https://vocal.media/humans/seeing-you-gz1jwx00sf

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