The Heart's Content

Chapter 69

Warning Mature Content Ahead.

Lucky thing Alastor was what one would call a waste not, what not, person because on that night he had a bonfire on the beach with Charlie and Beth, he had brought some of the remaining firewood back to the house just in case a situation called for it. And a power outage in the middle of a hurricane definitely called for it. Using the flashlight he found under the sink and lighter, he was able to get a nice, warm fire started on the hearth. After that he grabbed a box of candles from the closet and proceeded to light each of them one by one, as he placed them around the house. Not only did it make things inside easier to see, but it made a very romantic setting.

"Better?" Alastor asked Charlie, as he wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.

"Much." She sighed, glad that she could at least see again.

Once again there came thunder and it caused her to jump, but thankfully not cry.

"I think we need something to block out that dreadful noise." Alastor said. "And I know just the thing."

He walked back to his room, pulled out his little treasure box, and grabbed a cassette tape from it along with his wireless radio. Next he brought it back into the main room, placed it on the counter top, and put the tape inside the device.

"What's that?" Charlie said.

"A little music to pass the time and overshadow the thunder." He answered. "This was my mother's favorite song because it was the first one she ever danced to with my father."

"Let me guess, it was at a fancy party where they were dressed formally and couples were getting together on the dance floor."

"No." He chuckled. "Just the opposite. They were on their second date to a fair but suddenly it started pouring down rain and they had to seek shelter at a diner. The song came on the radio and my father asked her to dance, and my mother just couldn't refuse. Now a greasy diner may not be the most romantic place to have your first dance with the love of your life but, it didn't matter to either one of them."

"I like that. It doesn't seem so superficial."

Alastor pressed the button on the radio, and turned up the volume, allowing the song on the tape to fill the entire house.

"Maybe you thought I hung the moon,
Maybe you thought we were Johnny and June.
Maybe we thought it was just us two,
Maybe we spoke too soon."

"This song is nice." Charlie remarked.

Alastor approached her with a smile and extend his hand to her.

"May I have this dance?"

"Here?" She asked him. "Now?"

"Why not? It beats just sitting and waiting."

"Good point."

She smiled too and dropped the blanket on to the floor. He took her hands and they began to dance. It was a very playful waltz, one where they didn't care about having proper grace and balance. This was just a motion of letting their  excitement and pleasure control how they moved.

"We never lie and we don't tell tales,
We bite our tongues and our fingernails.
We fall in love and we don't fall out,
Maybe we speak too soon.

Here's you and me,
And in between we draw a line but we can't see where it's bend.
We scratch our heads and race against the heart's content,
Oh, whoa-whoa-oh, yeah."

As Alastor spun Charlie in his arms and listened to her laughter, he couldn't help but feel that the two of them had danced together many times. He could have never imagined a greater happiness than being here with the woman who had the most beautiful eyes.