The Woman With You

by Miss Wallow

Lorelia climbed out of her Jeep and walked around to the back and opened the hatch. She took out two paper bags of groceries. She never had food in her house...that was she didn't. Now that she was married to Luke, there were a lot more evenings and meals at home. Between the Inn, Rory, her parents, Sookie and well the Inn. She liked nothing more than to get home to him and just be.

She pulled the bags up onto each hip and made her way to the door. Just as she opened the door one of the bags ripped through and groceries went rolling all over the front porch.

"Shit." She said setting the other bag down. It had already been a long day.
Nothing went right at work, she and Rory had a fight about something stupid and she hadn't seen Luke all day. He had gone to open the diner before she woke up and she woke up late and didn't have time to join him there for break fast.

She was working at cornering the last can of fruit cocktail when Luke walked through the front door drying his hair with a towel. He smiled at her and chuckled as he let the towl fall around his neck. She tried not to smile, but she couldn't help it, he brought it out in her. He leaned down and offered her his hand. She sat the sack down on the table by the front porch chair. He sat down and pulled her into the crook of him arm. She breathed in deeply. It didn't matter if he was fresh showered or at the diner all day, she loved the way he smelled.

She curled her legs up and nuzzled into his chest. He stroked her hair. They hadn't said a word since she walked up, that was part of why she loved him. They had a whole language of looks. He knew she had had a long day, she didn't have to tell him. She craned her neck around to look at him and her long day faded away.

When she was with him it didn't matter that the Inn was just scrapping by, that the water pressure in some of the rooms still wasn't what it should be, that Michel was driving her crazy and Sookie refused to cut some cost and use off brands in her meals. She quickly forgot that she actually yelled at her daughter for wanting to stay at Yale for the weekend and study for a final on Monday, and that her mother wouldn't quit calling her asking for dating advice.

He looked at her with that quiet smile and it all faded away. He didn't care that she had been to busy to get her hair cut, or that she had a run in her hose. She knew that no matter what she looked like, when he looked at her all he saw was her. She laid her head on his chest and listened to him breath, his heart beat and the sound of the crickets in the grass. She shut her eyes and began to speak to him soft and low.

"Thank you. I don't know how you do it, but when I am at the end of my rope you always seem to find some slack." He stroked her hair.

"Mmmmhmmmm." he hummed low and slowly.

"You wouldn't believe the day I had. Sookie and I fought about her haphazard spending on groceries. Michel was...well he was Michel. Cletus is sick, Desdimona bit a guest, I had to comp a room. I was late for a meeting in Hartford with the accountant. My mother is driving me batty. I yelled at my kid for being responsible, but I miss her. Then I had a lovely discussion with Patty at Dooseys about why you and I aren't popping out a little league team. I went to pay for the groceries and realized I left my purse at the Inn, so I had to go back there to find Jen, the night manager yelling at Meg, sweet Meg the slowest but sweetest maid we have. So I had to talk her down off the ledge and give Jen the what for. Then I got back to Dooseys and Taylor had put all the groceries away that I asked him to just keep at the counter. But he said he couldn't be sure I was coming back for them. I swear I nearly beat him with a salami. Now here I am, spaghetti sauce lost somewhere in the bushes...but it dosen't matter. Because at the end of the day, I am not the owner of an Inn, a daughter, a best friend, a boss, a neighbor, a customer, or anything else...I am your wife, and I can't think of anything else I would rather be." She sighed. He gave her the 'your crazy' look and they both laughed.

He kissed her and simply said. "No one likes canned spaghetti sauce anyway."