AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hey, my beauties! So, it's just a short one this time, but it's still very fluffy! However, I have already written chapter 10 and it's much, much longer so you'll also have that to look forward to.
I can also say that the Mary/Bert romance should kick in fully by around chapter 11 or 12 - so the wait is almost over!
Thanks for all the support and kinds words - I hope you enjoy this!
A Thing Of Beauty Is A Joy Forever
Chapter Nine - I Missed You
This particular memory isn't overly detailed – in fact, there really isn't much to tell – but it's just something that has stuck with me, I'm really not sure why, but I value every memory I have with Bert and this one is no exception.
My day off came only a few days after we'd taken my charges into Bert's mountain drawing and we (naturally) spent it together. I'm not sure why, but I remember that I felt somewhat nervous that day; at the time, I had simply told myself that it was just because I hadn't spent any time alone with Bert for a while…but now, in retrospect, I think the cause of my nerves may have been something entirely different. But enough about that.
We went for tea that day and I'll never forget how his gaze never left mine, how he gave me his full attention and never once made me feel a single shred of a negative emotion. He made me feel comfortable and he listened to me so intently, well, it made me feel truly wanted – something that I was not used to feeling…unless I was with Bert. He had this amazing ability to make the dullest and most ordinary things seem incredible. Somehow, doing nothing with Bert felt like everything.
There was just something about him and for years I couldn't quite put my finger on it…he made everything seem warm and tender, as if there could be no hurt in the world, as if everything was fine. I know it sounds so dreadfully hyperbolic, but it's a sensation that I always felt when I was with him and even after all the years we spent together, I never once stop feeling this way. He was like the sun itself, a beacon of light, life and happiness. Bert was a true diamond.
And I'll never forget what he said to me that day, after talking for some time there was a brief pause…he studied his empty teacup for a while before softly saying…
"I missed you"
I looked at him – almost with surprise. But after a few seconds, I knew that there was only one appropriate response.
"I missed you too"
And it was true, I had missed him terribly. At this time, I considered London to be my home, but it never truly felt like home unless Bert was there. As the years went on he became the only true constant in my life – thus making him the one thing that was most valuable to me.
"I enjoyed working in Oxford, but it wasn't the same without you there…" I wanted to go one, but there was a lump in my throat.
"I felt the same, Mary…everythin' else in my life was normal an' whilst things were as joyous as ever, there was somethin' missing…I guess knowin' that you weren't gonna turn up whilst I was out drawing put a bit of a dampener on everythin'..." he gave me a smile, "…the sun follows you, Mary and London was awfully grey whilst you weren't 'ere"
Whilst I felt a twang of guilt in my chest, I knew then that Bert was truly someone special…but I don't think I realised quite how much. And I certainly didn't realise how much he would change my life over the years, how he would give me an amazing life and how I would never regret any moment that we spent together.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'd love to hear what you thought of that and I'll see you soon! xxx
