When We Were Young

The Stables

We went for a long drive to get out of the house; the gray skies had opened up and large drops of rain splashed the windshield and streets. Skylar clenched my hand during the drive, her mind elsewhere though. I worried, as I sometimes did, if my actions were unrecoverable.

But then she would always look at me and smile, my mind put at ease for the time being.

When we arrived back home, the rain had cleared and the sky had darkened to midnight blue. The fireplace was lit as the smoke filled the sky around the house and lights could be seen on through the large windows.

Skylar was quiet during dinner but she only said it was because she was tired. We spoke quietly afterwards by the fire, a glass of wine in our hands while my parents had retired early to bed.

"I could get used to this," I whispered in her ear, her body resting comfortable against mine.

"What's that?" she murmured, moving closer to me. I kissed her forehead and she sighed deeply.

"Sitting here like this, the fire, the quiet, you," I said. "It's nice."

"It is," she murmured barely audible. "Do you miss home now that you're here?"

I shrugged, unsure of how to answer. "It's different. My father wasn't around too much when I was in my teens. He was always commuting back and forth to London. He never looked at me the way he looks at me now."

"Like a man," Skylar said, sitting up and turning to face me. I pushed her hair out of her face, her eyes lit up by the fire that was roaring. Her cheek was warm and she smiled lazily when I placed my palm to her skin. "I see how he looks at you."

"He never defended me like he did before."

"He is proud of you. And from what I gather, he'll be proud of you no matter what career path you've chosen."

I frowned. I had tried to forget about having to tell my father. There was no opportunity that night to take him aside, although I could have created an opportunity.

"He will understand, Albert."

I nodded. "Yeah." I had my doubts but I could handle a tongue lashing from my father over Skylar being angry with me.

She smiled. "Come on. Let's go to bed. I'm exhausted."

"How exhausted?" I smiled with my brows pulled together.

Skylar pulled me to my feet and smirked. "Well, I'm never that exhausted."

***

I rolled over to find that Skylar was already awake and out of bed. I glanced at the clock and it was almost nine. I joined my parents and Skylar in the sunroom as they munched on their breakfast and made small talk. Brandt had made Skylar coffee instead of tea.

Everyone had a newspaper open and barely noticed when I walked into the room.

"Morning," I smiled, leaning down to kiss Skylar. I caught my mother watch us carefully.

"Sleep well in your old bed?" Harry laughed, folding the paper and handing it to me. I noticed he was wearing his stable clothes. After all, it was Saturday.

"Very well. Cheers," I mumbled taking the paper.

"What are your plans today?" Moira piped in. She was looking at me as if Skylar wasn't even there.

"What do you want to do, sweetie?" I asked, breaking Skylar's concentration from the article she was reading.

She looked up and grinned. "Whatever you want to do," she said quietly.