Does he need another week? I could feel my forehead wrinkling up, and a shiver went down my spine. My mother used to say a shiver was when “someone walked over your grave.”
Nick said he had been depressed lately and in my best coach all-in-a-sincere voice I said, “Together we can do anything! We are a team. No worries.” He kissed me, pulling me down and unzipping my jacket. I was always surprised at how much he could do with one hand.
Without even thinking, I headed outside to the Barn where Nick kept his office.
Our small Gambreal-style Barn was built in the 1930’s. You can see the Barn’s age when you go upstairs through an old door with a glass doorknob. Upstairs in the Barn, dust was on everything. Making it hard to see what was what.
Years ago, together , Nick and I grabbed brooms. Then, we tried to sweep the dust out the hayloft door. We ended up with dust all over us from head to toe. We grinned at each other and started to do the Texas two-step since we were no longer city slickers. That summer night, we had dust-free barn. So, we laid a blanket down to look out the hayloft and the night of stars.
Nick explored the outline of my face. A blond eyebrow arched playfully, “I love you,” he said. His strong arms embracing me as he took possession of my lips and heart. Nick was not just my husband but also my “honey-do-weekend” handyman. Nick helped his grandfather build a house in his teens and absorbed experience with hardware and electrical- you name it. I thought of us as I could cook anything and he could fix anything.
The best days of my life were not necessarily the days something tremendous or exciting happened, but the content I found in my home and family.
I saw his desktop computer in the barn office. I sat at the desk and briefly looked at business papers, then turned on the computer.
We had no secrets. I knew all the passwords. So first, I checked out our business email and then his personal email, which was always full of his main hobbies, karate and paragliding.
There is a new picture on his computer so I open it.
“Tout de suite” Let me , let you know, that now and forever….I will never forget.