Title: Reunification
Author: Lisbeth
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
Synopsis: While attending grad school, Grace runs into someone from her past
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: It would be very nice of you.
E-Mail: strangefruitgirl@hotmail.com
Authors Note: Once again, thanks for the positive feedback. I used one of my favorite books and movies as the main inspiration behind this chapter. So, I credit "Oscar And Lucinda" by Peter Carey, along with the movie adaptation for being my muse. I hope you all enjoy it.
Chapter 11: The Beauty In Paradoxes
"Grace."
She heard a whisper.
"Grace, wake up."
She heard the whisper again.
"Grace. Wake up sweet girl." August cooed.
Grace shifted slightly at his voice then finally opened her eyes. Her head lied on his chest and she couldn't think of anything except that it was probably one of the best nights of sleep she had ever gotten in ages.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Four in the morning."
"We still have time." Grace said as she yawned. "We might still get by." She said as she laughed slightly.
August laughed at her words of choice. "Every time I think about it I want to cry."
"Heart fan." She said as she sat up.
Her hair was tousled, but August found she looked more beautiful than ever. He began to brush his fingers through her hair.
"Did you just wake up?" Grace asked.
"No. I was up for a few minutes. I figured that your parents have no idea where you are at right now. I don't think they would be too happy if they found out that you just slept in the same bed as your former teacher." August said as he went to kiss her.
"I don't care about what they think. All that matters is this – right here right now." Grace said as she fell into his arms.
"Sweet dreams?"
"Yes." She whispered. "I could hear your heart beating in your chest. I could only tell myself that if it was a dream I did not ever want to wake up. And you?"
"You just took the words out of my mouth." He replied as their lips both met.
They would remain like that for a few moments, until Grace would reluctantly break away from him.
"I don't want to go." Grace said.
"You can come back."
"Oh yeah, I'll just tell my mom that you invited me over for a pajama party. That will surely get her blessings."
"How would the radio host handle it?"
"I'm afraid to think about it at times. Besides, she has enough to worry about with my grandmother besides her daughters love life."
"You're going to have to tell them you know." August said seriously.
"I know, but I refuse to let them have this. I want this all to ourselves for now." She said as she grabbed his hands.
"They will never have this." August assured her.
He gave her his secret smile and it comforted her in a way that nothing else could. At times, it was better than a long hug. She reluctantly got out of his bed and walked to the bathroom to freshen up a bit.
Before she walked out of his door, he promised that he would call her that day. She would somehow find a way to see him again. In a few days they would be seeing Coldplay, but Grace couldn't wait that long. There was always school also, but Grace wasn't too sure if she could wait that long now that he was back in her life.
As they kissed each other goodbye, August didn't want to let her go. She would walk out of his door, and out of his life at that moment. Even if it was only temporary, it still felt like forever. He didn't want to think of the lies he knew she would somehow come up with in order to be with him. It was like a dam that was just waiting to burst open, and he knew that it would one day. Did she really not care what the rest of them would have thought? While a huge part of him was confident in her that she truly didn't care, there was still the part that knew that she would yearn for their approval. He knew that she was someone who didn't like to disappoint those she loved.
In a little while the sun would rise, a new day would be born. And as August watched her drive off he could only think that a new world for the two of them would be born also. How long the perfection would last, he didn't know.
As the sun was beginning to rise, Grace quietly crept into her house through the kitchen door. To her surprise, she wasn't as nervous as she thought she would be. Grace took a quick shower and decided it would be the perfect day to make breakfast for her family. She wasn't tired and with all of the energy coursing through her veins she decided to put it to good use. As she rummaged through the kitchen for ideas on what to make, she pulled out her mother's cookbook and figured that good old-fashioned pancakes would do the trick. She walked over to the small stereo her mother recently put in the kitchen and flipped it on. She moved the dial around until she found the college radio station and recognized the upbeat Muddy Waters tune. Apparently it was the blues hour.
"What a good way to break in the morning." Grace said with a smile on her face as she pulled the ingredients she needed out of the kitchen counter.
After thirty minutes in the kitchen, everything was almost done. NPR was going through their usual world news moment on the radio. It was then that Grace heard footsteps.
"Hey
sweetie!" Lily said as she looked around the kitchen. "What are you doing up so early?"
"Well, I got an early start
and I figured that I could make you guys breakfast."
"How early?"
"Oh, a little after four actually."
"Wow, Grace, you've outdone yourself." Lily gasped at the sight at the batch of pancakes on the counter. "Pancakes! I can't even remember the last time I had pancakes. Any way I can put in a request for these everyday?"
"I don't think so." Grace said smiling.
"Are you alright?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm real good actually. I haven't felt this good in so long."
"Well, what is it?"
Grace focused her attention on the bacon she had in the pan. "Well, I don't really know. I just feel so alive right now."
"I would sure like to know what it is? You have a glow."
"It's probably because of a new moisturizer I'm using. That's my secret." Grace lied.
All morning, all she could think about was August. She would see him tomorrow. It would be here before she knew it. Still, she had his phone call to look forward to. While she tried to occupy herself with her book, her concentration always ran short. Every time the phone rang, she jumped at the thought that it was him. She could only hope that her mother wouldn't be able to recognize his voice. With all of her homework done, and her notes looked over more times than she could count, she needed something, or someone to cure her boredom.
Lily was busy looking into homes for her grandmother, and Zoe and Simon were preoccupied with other things. It was then that the phone rang.
"Grace! Telephone!" Rick called.
"I'm coming." Grace said as she ran down the stairs. She grabbed the telephone out of Rick's hand as she tried to catch her breath. "Thanks" she said. She waited until Rick left the kitchen until she put the receiver to her ears and spoke.
"Hello dear." Grace said.
"Was it that easy to guess who it was?" August said.
"Well, I applaud your courage in trying to call here. I am so paranoid that my mom will recognize your voice."
"I can do a British accent pretty well you know."
"I love guys with accents; you should try it on me sometime. So, what's going on?"
"I was putting the finishing touches on my collection to be sent off and I was thinking of you. Do you think your family would mind if I asked you to come away with me somewhere?"
"Where?"
"New Orleans, but, Blockbuster will have to do for now. How about we rent a few movies?"
"That sounds like a good idea." Grace said.
"Can you meet me at my house?" August asked.
"Sure. Am I on popcorn duty?"
"That would be good."
"Alright, I'll see you then."
With that, Grace hung up the phone and went to get ready. She told Rick that she would be going to meet a few classmates in Chicago. Grace never did leave Rick an opportunity to dig into who exactly she would be meeting.
Thirty minutes later, Grace pulled up to August's house. She got out of the car and began to walk towards the door as he opened it.
"Hey!" he said as he closed and locked his front door. It was the first time Grace had actually seen him in a pair of jeans. He was wearing a navy blue sweater which Grace thought went well with his red hair. "So, your vehicle or mine?"
"It's my turn to drive you around." Grace said.
A few minutes later they were walking into the neighborhood Blockbuster. Grace wasn't in any particular mood for a certain type of movie, just as long as she was sitting next to her certain someone. They soon walked out with two movies in tow. August chose "Harvey" while Grace opted for "Oscar And Lucinda."
August held the bag with the movies with his other arm wrapped around Grace's shoulders. There was a slight chill in the air that gave Grace a shiver of delight in the knowledge that his arm was indeed around her, but that they didn't have to hide from the world anymore. The joy in that knowledge was something she never wanted to lose.
"So, which movie will we watch first?" Grace asked.
"Easy, paper rock scissors, works all the time."
"It beats tossing a coin."
The two were on his couch as the lights were cut off. It was mid-afternoon and the light of day was still shining through the mini-blinds in the living room. Grace's head rested on his lap as he lightly traced his fingers through Grace's hair. It comforted her in those certain moments in the movie that often left Grace in tears. As the two watched "Oscar And Lucinda" Grace was reminded of just how much she loved the characters of Oscar Hopkins and Lucinda Leplastrier. Oscar had reminded Grace of August so much – so reserved at times, so gentle, such an "odd bod" as it was put. Lucinda was one of Grace's favorite literary characters. She was reminded of herself sometimes when she thought of Lucinda. Even though the love story between Oscar and Lucinda ended on a sad note, it still had a happy ending. One still felt good, even though the two could never fully declare their love for one another, it was still there, out in the open. The two of them knew about it by glances and touches, but the word "love" never truly passed from their lips. She never looked at glass and water the same way again. August was her own little Oscar, trying to understand the ways of the world around him through an observant point of view, while at the same time being tempted by its dangerous charms.
Grace watched one of the last scenes when the man made wooden raft that held the glass church that was designed by Lucinda began to sink into the water, with Oscar locked in it. Oscar, who had a deep seeded fear of water, panicked, fought to be released from his reluctant cage, but couldn't get out of it. Finally, when the entire church was submerged underwater, Oscar began to see images of the woman he loved reaching for him while giving him a one hundred and eighty watt smile, and in another image he saw the father who he never truly made peace with. It was if he realized how silly his fear was, he even appeared to have grown accustomed to it, almost enjoying the peace and quiet of the blue waters. Then, he let go.
Lucinda arrived in the small town to find that her love had died. She was strong, stoic almost, in her ways, but it was when she was shown what remained of her church that the inner turmoil began to boil. As she walked into the church, she grabbed the chair that Oscar last sat in and defiantly placed it on the floor. It was if she were saying that the perishing of the two things she loved would never bring her down. She then found a little keepsake box that Oscar always carried with him floating in the remaining water. She opened it, and her emotions overcame her. Those were the first tears she shed over him ever since she heard of his passing. That scene always got to Grace.
Even though he couldn't see the tears which were beginning to form in her eyes, August began to run his hand up and down her arm. It was his way of comforting her, she could easily tell. The tears came, but not because of the movie, but because of the fact that she finally had the chance to share with him just what those characters meant to her. Would their story end on a sad note, but still somehow have a happy ending? Grace didn't know, and it began to scare her a bit. Was it too much to ask that one be happy? What she and August had wasn't an ordinary love – it was something grander than that. She loved him with every fiber of her being, but she still felt that there would be something that would rip them apart. It could be as simple as a simple twist of fate, just like Oscar and Lucinda.
"I love this movie." Grace said as she turned to face him. "How can something so sad be so wonderful in the end?"
"I don't know Grace. Maybe it is just something we aren't meant to understand."
He always knew exactly what to say to make her feel better. It was odd, yet so beautiful at the same time. Grace was beginning to see the beauty in paradoxes. She smiled at him with glassy eyes and reached to him with both of her arms, just as Lucinda did underwater to Oscar. She ran her hands down his face slowly with one of her thumbs landing on his lips with his kissing it. He made his way down to meet her lips with his own as Grace moved her head up to meet him half way. The kisses constantly battled out with one another – some soft, sweet, innocent, while some were more passionate, the combination of five years of yearning, lust, waiting for no one but each other. It was madness, absolute madness. Grace tried to suppress the moan which she felt forming in her throat, but gave in to it, letting it out with no shame. Did he not realize the effect he had on her?
It was getting harder and harder for her to push him away, to tell him that they should stop before things get out of hand. She felt she was ready for the next step, but at the same time she knew she wasn't. Rushing into things never really worked out for her in the end. As she reluctantly pulled away for some much needed air, she saw the expression on his face that she always loved. His smile with his eyes closed. The paleness of his skin and eyelashes was almost a work of art. She wished she could have a picture of it to carry around with her. She made a mental note to herself that she would get that done.
"I'm sorry. I thought we were getting a little too hot and heavy there."
"There's nothing to be sorry about." August said as he reached for her hand.
"Are you always this understanding?" Grace asked.
"It's wisdom. People tend to get it as they mature, but you, you always had it. I knew it back then, just as I do now."
"I'm an old soul."
"You make it sound as if it is something dreadful. It's both a rare and beautiful quality to have. It's one of the things that made me fall in love with you."
"I just don't want you to think that I don't want to do that with you." Grace said as she used her hands to somehow help her get her point across more clearly. "I do, God, I do so bad, but I just don't feel ready. I know, it's so afterschool special sounding, but it's the truth."
With those words, August began to laugh almost uncontrollably. He remembered the words he told her when she first made her little proposal to him at his house. "I would be honored." He said as he began laughing yet again.
"Oh no," Grace said with embarrassment. "I was kind of hoping you would have forgotten that little chapter in our history."
"No, that was actually one of the highlights." He said as he tried to suppress his laughter.
"Ok. Let's watch your movie." Grace said trying to change the subject while getting up to stretch her legs out.
"I'll give it up, for now." August said as he got off the sofa and walked into the kitchen.
Grace took out "Oscar And Lucinda" from the VCR and put in "Harvey." She walked around the living room, looking at his book shelf, still finding his book of poetry there. August walked back into the living room with a bowl of popcorn and two bottles of water. As he settled back on the sofa, Grace soon joined him. She sat next to him, using his shoulder now as her pillow. Was there any way to get closer to him that didn't involve taking their clothes off? As the movie began, she pushed that last question out of her mind. It was time now for laughter, and that movie, along with August did the trick.
