"Lawrence Montgomery the third. Stop. Right. Now." Panting from the sprint, I reached for his little arm as he howled with laughter, drool running down the corner of his mouth.
Wiggling uselessly against my grip, he giggled and yelled toward the sea where his dad and sister were playing. "Rosie! Mommy caught me! Save yourself!"
A high pitched squeal from the distance traveled back.
"Not funny, Mister," I scolded, trying hard to slap some sunscreen onto his white, plump chest while he squirmed left to right.
"Mommmy, can I play in the water now?" He wailed with those shiny blue marbles for eyes on me.
"What did we say about whining? You're a big boy now."
"Fineee, can I big-boy play in the water then?"
Shaking my head with a smile, I finished rubbing on the layers of protectant onto his delicate skin. "Okay, you're good to go."
"Yay!" He spun around, making a break for it, only to be stopped by my arms around his tummy.
"Nah uh, Lory. Give Mommy a kiss goodbye."
"Muah!" He smacked a wet one near the corner of my lips, causing me to laugh.
"Off you go." I nudged him on the bum gently and watched him take off, leaving tiny footprints on the white sand.
There. The hardest task of the day was done, until dinnertime that is, but for now they were their dad's problem. Walking across the beach toward the green grass, I hunted down the only unoccupied shade by a tree and built my nest consisting of a beach towel, tumbler of ice coffee, and copy of The Da Vinci Code. This was the start of our family's one week vacation in our newly acquired beach home. Everything was exactly in place. Sunscreen protected kids in cute bathing suits, check. Doting husband running after the little monsters, check. Sunglasses, caffeine and a good read, check.
Relaxed, I leaned against the bark, not minding the cool, prickly texture against my back, and opened the book. Just as I began to read, a scream made my head snap up, the sudden movement almost sending my sunglasses flying.
"Heads!" A boy about the age of eight ran toward me, waving his arms frantically in the air. Halting by the tree, he bent over with his hands on his knees and wheezed between breaths, "Sorry, Ma'am."
A tiny heat wave boiled in my head. Even three years after turning thirty, being called the big M word was still a fresh wound. "It's okay, sweetie." Spotting a fluorescent Frisbee by my towel, I handed it to him. "Here you go."
"What do you say?" A deep voice cut in before the boy could reply.
Looking up, I blinked two, three times to confirm my sight. Towering over me was a man, looking to be in his thirties, wearing a generous smile. With a pair of swim shorts, he fit right in with the beach-goers, but what caught my breath was not his toned body, but his face, his features. I could have sworn he looked exactly like-
"Rory?" His eyes widened briefly before they squinted to take a closer look.
Under his scrutiny, my hands reached to rip off the sunglasses on my stunned face. I didn't know why I did it, but in the movies it seemed like a courtesy to remove tinted eyewear when greeting someone you haven't seen since…
"Wow, it really is you. I haven't seen you since-"
"Graduation." The word flew out too quickly to be held back, probably because it was the only thought - no, the only memory - running through my head at the time.
Closing my ajarred mouth, I gave, what I hoped was, a smile. "Hi... Logan." The name left my tongue in a tentative gesture, as if I needed to give the sound a test run. I haven't spoken that name for so long, a decade to be exact. Surprisingly, it still sounded so familiar.
"Hey, Rory." Recovering from a slightly paled complexion, he grinned in the way he always did, when he made suggestions for a restaurant, when he brought me coffee in the morning, when he beat me in our banters.
Darting my eyes at the little spectator beside him, I asked, "Is this your…?" Catching myself mid-question, my brain gawked over my rudeness.
"Oh," he chuckled, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder, "This is my nephew. Honor's kid. You know Honor." He gestured at me before letting his hand fall to a side.
Nodding wordlessly, I carefully arranged my face into a smile. So, this was what it was like running into a half-naked ex. My eyes grazed over the hills of muscles along his abdomen, fighting the urge to count them. I admit, in that instant, my own hunk of a husband was far from my mind.
Thankfully unaware of my shameless gaze, he said, "Wow, it's been a really long time." He ran his hand along the back of his head, bowing slightly to glance at the ground.
Nodding again, I replied, "Yeah." Clearly, words longer than four letters were not my forte at the moment.
"So, how've you been?" Before I answered, he turned to his nephew. "Hey buddy, you wanna play with Matt for a bit while I talk to my friend?"
The boy looked me up and down, his brow raised. "Got it, Uncle Lo." Not-so-subtly, he winked at Logan before running off.
Logan snickered, watching the boy's back. "I swear, I don't know where he got that from."
For the first time in minutes, a genuine laugh escaped me. "I'm sure."
Sitting down cross legged beside me, he leaned over my shoulder to see the book clenched in my hand, his bare skin brushing lightly against my arm. "Reading at the beach, I see you haven't changed."
Subtly shifting a bit so our skin wouldn't touch again, I hugged the book to my stomach. "Things get hectic with the kids, so I steal any quiet time I get."
"Kids, huh?" He observed me, and in turn providing a close-up of his caramel eyes. "How many?"
"Two," I answered, my gaze locked with his, still in disbelief that Logan Huntzberger, the Logan from my early twenties, who I could have married, who I'd cried over, was sitting beside me. Those times felt like a century ago, even though I did think of him every now and then, wondering what our life would have been like if I'd said 'yes'. Shaking my head faintly, I snapped out of my thoughts. "What about you? Any kids yet?"
"Nope, still single," he answered, pursing his lips, "I've been busy and haven't found someone to settle down with."
The way he said those words brought chills down my arms, lifting the hairs up one by one. I was supposed to be that someone, but not anymore. Now, I was another man's someone, the thought brought nostalgia to my heart.
"What have you been up to?" My voice rose in pitch as I tried to change the subject.
Wetting his lips, he said, "I just moved here to head a digital media company, but I've basically been all over the country, firing up new departments and projects. When one's established, I move on to new territory."
Hearing about his life, envy tingled in my chest. "Sounds exciting."
"Yeah, I like the fast-paced life with a bit of risk, though it's not something you don't know about," he chuckled. "What about you? Are you an overseas correspondent yet, Ace?"
The nickname off his lips, designated just for me, just between us, took my breath away for the briefest second. I started blushing, in the only way a thirty something's woman could. Composing myself, I replied with as much pride as I could muster, "Not exactly. Unless overseas correspondent is code for stay-at-home mom."
"Really?" Both eyebrows shot up, creating faint lines on his forehead. "I guess kids really do eat up your time, huh?"
"Ha, yeah. You'll find out when it's your turn," I teased, letting a short laugh enter the silence. Exes talking about each other's families must be number one on the awkward list, especially when you were supposed to marry said ex. It's not like I'd left Logan at the altar or anything, but I knew I was the one to blame if anyone was pointing fingers for our failed relationship. But, we were so young, we had no idea what marriage was, at least that was what I told myself on those nights when I wondered about him.
"Is your family here too?" His voice made me jump.
"Oh, yeah. They're playing in the water." I pointed in the direction, unable to spot the trio from afar.
He raised a hand over his eyes, scanning the waterline. "Do you live around here then?"
"Oh, no. We recently bought a vacation home here and decided to come every summer."
"Nice, sounds like a good life you've got there, Ace." His eyes twinkled, seemingly hiding a million emotions, while a faint smile resided on his lips.
At the look, a lump formed in my throat, taking me by surprise. I cleared my voice and smiled. "Yours doesn't sound bad either."
He looked down and shook his head. "I have my fun, but it does get lonely sometimes."
"I envy you though. I've always have." My words caught his attention as he gave me a quizzical smirk. I continued, "You're not afraid to pursue your passions. It's amazing what you do, Logan. Really."
"Why, thank you." His smirk grew. "That's a good enough ego-booster for the day."
I laughed, shaking my head at his usual charm. "You haven't changed either."
"No, I haven't." Playing in slow motion before me, his smile disappeared as his eyes bored into mine.
My face froze as I half-smiled, half-gaped, but I didn't care. I stared back, temporarily losing myself in the moment. Logan hadn't changed, and neither had I. The only thing that truly changed was time. Without the advances of time, we would be exactly where we were ten years ago. The fine lines in our smiles wouldn't exist, neither would the sad look in his eyes, because everything would have been different. In that moment, quickly, very quickly, I imagined myself saying 'yes' the day he got down on one knee. I gave myself that second to once again ponder what it would have been like.
Thanks for reading and please leave a review! I would love to hear your feedback!
While packing for my vacation, this scene suddenly came to me when I was listening to the song "Think of You" by A Fine Frenzy. I'm intending for it to be a two-shot, but I do see the potential of it becoming more so I might continue it in the future after I finish my other stories.
I was thinking, in Leap of Faith, Rory and Logan meet three years after they broke up, and they have a chance at making it work again even though things are complicated. However, in here, they didn't run into each other til ten years later and she already has two kids. I really wonder what happens in this situation when the one that got away comes back into your life. In the next update, you will find out more about their lives and takes on this situation.
Anyway, please let me know what you think! :)