Coffee & Commentary

Yearning and Yawning

April 1992

"For Merlin's Sake, Katriona Cassiopeia. What are you doing awake at this time of morning?" Tulip groaned and shielded her eyes as I turned on every lamp in our room. I bounced on my toes and clapped my hands. Today, after five months apart, I would be back in Murphy's arms. I only had two hours to pull myself together and look perfect for his arrival. I sat in front of my mirror and found the perfect shade of red lipstick and jet black mascara. I decided to forgo the blush since the sight of him would turn my cheeks a shade of pink that no cosmetic potion could ever rival. I hummed as I made sure I looked my very best. I turned to ask Tulip her opinion on my lip shade of choice, but she was already buried in my closet digging for the perfect outfit to match. She tossed my favorite black sweater with the black and white skirt onto Rowan's bed.

I ran across the room to move it but Tulip grabbed my wrist. "She wants to be part of this. Leave it." She sat my red heels on the pillow. I grimaced. She was right though, I smiled as I considered how much fun the three of us had when one of us was getting ready for a big date. Murphy and I had hundreds of big dates in our years together, but this one felt like the biggest yet. His return wasn't the only big occasion. He was returning specifically for our third anniversary. I had been loving this wonderful guy since we were just kids. It had been too long since I had kissed his beautiful smile. 

My stomach fluttered while I looked at the outfit Tulip selected. "I like the shoes, but with the red lips, I feel like it needs something else in red. Do you have ...like... maybe a belt I could borrow?" I scratched my chin and stared. 

 He'll never even notice the missing piece to the outfit." She smirked. I changed into the skirt and pinned his snitch pin to the sweater. 

"Perfect", my roommate and I said in unison.

I paced around the courtyard awaiting his arrival. My heels clicked on the cobble stone as I moved back and forth. My palms were sweaty as I stared into the distance hoping to see him on his way home to me. I sat on the edge of the fountain in the courtyard and crossed my legs. Ugh, too posed. I kicked my legs up and rested my back against a pillar. Nope, too casual. I knew it wouldn't matter how I was sitting or what I was wearing, but he deserved perfection.

"My Rising Star!" a voice called from behind me. The sound brought tears to my eyes. I turned and ran to him. I jumped into his lap, taking care not to land on his injured leg, and kissed him deeply. He grabbed my waist and held me close. I ran my hands through his always perfect hair and continued to kiss him with more passion than ever before. He pulled back and stared at me. His blue eyes were closer to grey as they took me in. He smiled as he repositioned me so that I was straddling his lap. His kiss was slow and gentle this time. It took me by surprise. It took me out of the heat of missing him and into the moment of holding him close. There was no need to rush. We were finally reunited after all these months. My lungs were completely devoid of oxygen from his kiss. I rested my forehead on his as I caught my breath. "You have no idea how good it feels to have your arms wrapped around me." He whispered deeply. 

We were startled out of our love-struck daze by the sound of gobstones crashing and spraying into each other. We had not realized we were not alone. "Heeey, KC! Welcome back, McNully!" Autumn, an up-and-coming chaser who was certain to take multiple awards for the current quidditch season, called to us as she shot the winning gobstone into the pile. 

Though he never liked the game, he was enthusiastic to call a match of any kind. "Alright, Autumn!! Scooore!!!" He called to her with encouragement. 

She raised an eyebrow at us and smirked. "With any luck, I'll be the only one trying to 'score' out here. Take it inside, love birds." She gestured with a smile.