There are too many things that remind Gwen of what used to be.
"Good morning, Jack," she says one morning. He smiles at her. There on her desk is a brilliantly purple iris.
"You said they're you're favorite," he says, gesturing to flower. She smiles and kisses him on the cheek.
"Thank you," she says.
Today, she sees a bouquet of irises in someone's hands. She holds tightly on to Rhys' hand and fights back tears.
A different morning, he hands her a cup of coffee.
"Three sugars, right?" Jack asks. She nods, and sips her coffee, smiling at him over the rim.
"Ya want three sugars?" Rhys calls from the kitchen.
"Yeah," she shouts back. Gwen falls against the couch, as the memories flood through her. She bites her lip to keep the tears back.
"I'm lonely, Gwen. I feel so lonely sometimes," Jack tells her. She wraps her arm around him, pressing her cheek against his.
"Ah, Gwen! The police station is so lonely with out you!" Andy says boisterously. She laughs with him, but she feels a bit hysterical. The tears come to her eyes, and Andy says, "It wasn't that funny." She just shakes her head at him.
"You kept me fighting, the thought of coming home to you," Jack says, holding her hands. She smiles at him lovingly.
"Gwen! Blimey, it's the first time I've come home to you in a while!" Rhys yells from the door way. She doesn't meet his gaze, afraid of the fact that their brown, and not the electric blue she wants them to be.
"Gwen, you're with me," Jack says, stretching out his hand. She smiles and takes it. They run away from the SUV.
"Gwen, come with me!" Rhys yells from the doorway. She sighs and gets up, trying not to remember the last time someone said that.
With tears streaming down her face, she presses her lips against his. It does nothing. She starts to walk away. "Thank you." She spins around. He was alive.
Rhys and her lay panting side by side, his lips swollen. "Than you," he says. She turns away, and doesn't look him in the eyes again.
"Want me to escort you?" Jack asks, extending his arm. She takes it, and they step onto the invisible lift.
"Well, Mrs. Williams, let me escort you in!" Rhys laughs. She tries to smile, but it's more of a grimace.
"I love you," Jack says. His eyes are so hopeful. "I love you, too," she replies. He kisses her, and it's the beginning of something new.
"I love you!" Rhys shouts from the bedroom. She squeezes her eyes shut."You, too," she says halfheartedly. He doesn't notice. She wishes he did.
Jack and her lay on the sand, which was still warm from the sun. She was lying on his half way open coat. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and her's were lazily thrown around his neck. "Ha! Look at that one, it's really bright!" Jack says softly, taking her hand and pointing out the bright star that was just beginning to show on the horizon. She smiles, and he lightly brushes her lips against her's. He smiles along with her, as the rustlings of the beach nightlife rustles around them and the ocean crashes in the background.
Rhys is laughing hard, little bits of lasagna falling everywhere. "And then Dav says, look at that one, it's really bright!" Gwen attempts to smile, but it comes out like a grimace. She doesn't look him in the eyes, and gets up, washing her dish as she leaves the kitchen, trying so very hard not to run far, far away from Rhys.
"I love you. I do." Jack took her hand and sandwiched in between his. He smiles, a full, happy smile.
"I do," Rhys says gravely. Gwen feels the urge to rip her new wedding ring off her finger and leave Rhys.
"Nobody knows," Jack says in a vague, mysterious voice. Gwen rolls her eyes but kisses him.
"Nobody knew!" Rhys rants, staring at the football team. This time Gwen rolls her eyes but doesn't kiss him.
There are too many things that remind Gwen of what used to be, and one day she thinks it might become too much.