Loss and Longing

Stevie turned to leave. It hurt too much just to look at him.

“Please don’t go” he said as her hand made contact with the door handle. “I didn’t think you’d come if I asked you to meet me. I just want to talk. I didn’t know where else we could meet and talk in private.”

Stevie didn’t move.

“Please” he said again “I have something I need to tell you. It won’t take long.”

She turned around and looked at him. She knew her pain was visible in her eyes, she couldn’t hide it.

“Do you want to sit down?” he asked indicating two chairs on either side of a low table in the window. The setting reminded Stevie of their night out at the bar. She pushed the memory away and taking a deep breath, she moved past him and sat down on a single chair in front of a desk instead.

He walked over and pulling another chair over, he sat on the edge of it facing her. He rested his elbows on his thighs and linked his hands. “How are you?” he said.

She didn’t reply. She just glanced at him and then away. He looked tired she noticed.

He sighed and tried again. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get in contact but I wanted to get a few things in place before we spoke again.”

“What things?” she asked as she turned back to look at him. Her tone was wary. She didn’t like the sound of that.

“Things I know you’re not going to be happy about” he admitted.

“Then why did you do them?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Because I had to” he said.

“What?”

“I’ll get to that” Grant said “first of all I want to apologise for the things I said that morning. I didn’t mean them. I admire the way you stand by your principles, I really do, but it’s not every day you have a proposal thrown back at you. In fact it was the first time I’d made one, so I was reeling a bit.”

Stevie just looked at him.

He sighed again. “Okay to what I have to tell you, I want you to listen to me all the way through before you speak okay?”

She nodded.