Glen Oak, the small city in California, had never seen anything like him before. He was tall, his hair was like a flame dancing with the wind and his eyes, his eyes were so blue, you could feel yourself drowning in them, but they were sad.
He had been around for a few days, walking around, drinking coffee in the cafés. It was like he was there to do something, but lacked the courage to do what he came there to do. But people let him be, he wasn't acting suspicious and he lacked the malevolence that went with the bad guys. The usual gossip mill was at large though. I mean how often you would be able to see anything like him. The female population threw longing glances at him and the males were curious or angry because their female companions looked at him with lust in their eyes.
He did notice all this and it made the redheahed man amused, but he still needed her, only her. The one person who could make his life worth living. Her loved her so much that he had let her go when she asked for it. It had hurt him, it had almost killed him, killed his heart. And now he was here, he couldn't let her go on without letting her know how he felt.
He was once again just walking around, deep in thought. He was in his own world and wasn't looking where he was going. He sat down, and sighed. He let his head drop to his hands and he cried.
--
Eric Camden was the minister of the local church, not a bad looking guy either, the female population had noticed this one too. Some of them went to church every Sunday because of him, some went to church because they believed and some went to church because they were forced to, all in all he was nice to look at.
But today was not Sunday, it was Saturday morning and Eric was on his way to his office when he heard soft sobs coming from the last bench. He made his way to the corner where the sobs were coming from. When he got closer he saw a man sitting there, head bent and crying. Eric's heart went out to him, that strange man seemed so lost. He sat beside the man and touched his shoulder, the redheaded man startled, but still kept his eyes cast downwards.
"I am reverend Eric Camden." he introduced himself. And finally the man looked at him. Eric's breath was almost taken away by the sadness he saw in the stranger's eyes.
"My name is Horatio. Horatio Caine." the redheaded man said after a long silence.
"You seem lost. Can I be of some assistance?" Horatio smiled at this, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Only if you can mend a broken heart." Horatio said and sighed again.
"I might not be able to, but things have the way of sorting themselves out." Eric tried to console this man.
Horatio wiped the tears from
his face and sniffed softly.
"I came here because I let the
light of my life slip through my fingers. I need to find her and let
her know... let her know my feelings. Why I did the things I did, why
I said the things I said. I came here all the way from Miami to tell
her this."
"Be patient and..." eric started, but was interrupted.
"Horatio?" came the voice. He
looked up and saw her. And that was the moment he fell in love all
over again. They stared at each other for a long while and Eric
watched. Finally Eric stood up and went past her. He stopped, turned
to her and said,
"You can use my office to talk , but don't
do anything I wouldn't do."
She smiled and
quipped,
"Well Eric, you and your wife have five kids and
she's pregnant again. That leaves precious little for us not to
do."
Eric laughed and walked out.
--
Horatio had watched his exchange. First feeling jealous, then stupid and finally relieved. He opened his mouth, but she beat him to it.
"Horatio, I stood here long enough. I heard everything. I know why you did the things you did, why you said the things you said. I hurt you and you were trying to protect yourself. I hurt you by leaving, but you knew as well as I did that we couldn't be together. You were my boss, I was your gang expert, one of your CSI's. I had to leave because it hurt too much to be in the same city with you, all the while knowing the we couldn't be together. So I tranfered here, to California. But the pain is still here." She said and placed her hand over to her heart.
"Sara, my love. You hurt me and I hurt you back. I hope you can forgive me as I have forgiven you. I love you." he started and continued, " After you left, nothing was the same again. I resigned. I couldn't do it anymore. I resigned and came here, looking for you and to tell you that I love you and..."
He couldn't finish because her lips and crashed to his, effectively silencing him.
"I love you too." And they kissed again.
"Wait wait wait. You left your job? Miami? Miami was your home."
"Sara, home is where heart is. You have my heart." Horatio told her. She smiled and kissed him again, tears of joy running down he face.
Eric smiled and thanked God.
