"Maybe you should go too," Linda said quietly.
"Maybe not." Vince said, shutting the door that Shane had left wide open. He turned around and faced Linda with a determined look in his eyes. "I'm not leaving until WE decide where our futures lie, one way or the other."
Linda looked up at him. "I've had a very long day Vince, I don't need this."
"Well I've had a long day too, mainly worrying about if the police were going to show up and tell me you were dead or something as nobody had any clue where you were."
"I've told you where I was and what I was doing, now would you please leave!" Linda said firmly.
"No," Vince said, just as firmly. "I can't leave until we sort this mess that was once our marriage out. Then I can know if my life is over or not because I'm sick of hanging on waiting for your decision. I need to know what you're thinking."
"I'm thinking I need space."
"Bullshit! I think I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that maybe if you can stall me a bit longer, you'll suddenly know what the right thing to do is. Well I'll tell you Linda, you'll be trying to stall me for a long time 'cos it ain't gonna happen. Stop thinking and start listening to your heart. What's it telling you?" Vince didn't pull any punches, he was tired of not knowing.
"Listen to my heart? That's a laugh isn't it? Listen to my heart, do you know how many times I've listened to my heart over the years? That's all I've ever done and every time we end up in some sort of mess. I'm tired of listening to my heart, tired of it telling me that I love you so damn much that it hurts. This time I'm thinking because at least then my decisions will have some sort of logic to them." Linda let rip, all her pent up emotions were falling out of her.
"Love doesn't have any logic Linda." Vince said looking at her.
"What is love?" She asked, she was confused. If she didn't know what love was, then how could she say she loved anybody?
"I often wondered that, before I met you. You taught me what it was, you showed me how to love. I don't know about everyone else but for us, love is loving each other so much that it physically hurts, loving so much that all we've been doing the past few nights is cry ourselves to sleep because we miss each other that badly. Forgiveness, protection, honesty. The thought that we would rather die than be without each other. Like Steph said, we could run from each other but we'd never be free. That's OUR love." Vince had tears in his eyes, he had never loved her as much as he loved her right then and there. All he wanted was to hold her, to take her in his arms and tell her it would all be ok, they'd get past it, they'd be happy again.
Linda looked at him, tears were running down her cheeks. Their life together flashed before her, the first meeting, the proposal, the wedding, their children, places they had lived, the business, friends who had passed through their lives, their grandchildren, the sudden reappearance of Rachel, their fights over the years and the making up of those fights, they way they made love to each other, the look of love that passed between them every time they looked at each other. Their life hadn't been a picnic, he had done things that hurt her and she him. The one thing that remained was their love for one another. She couldn't remember her life without him, Vince was right, Linda would rather die than be on this earth without him.
"Don't cry," Without Linda realising, Vince had an arm around her waist and his other hand was gently wiping her tears away. "I can't be without you Linda, ask me to do anything else but never tell me to live without you, I couldn't do it."
Linda slowly shook her head. "Me neither."
"I love you." He said gently, whispering in her ear.
"And I love you." Linda replied.
They had overcome many obstacles in their life together and that was they key thing, they were together and at that moment they both felt they could survive anything. They lay on the bed together, in each others arms, thinking of how lucky they were. They talked until the sun came up, they sorted through a lot of things, their separate issues, the difficulties they would still have to face, their fears and innermost secrets, most of which they had never revealed to each other before.
When they could hear others bustling around in the hall, they got up and packed Linda's things and together, headed home.
"Maybe not." Vince said, shutting the door that Shane had left wide open. He turned around and faced Linda with a determined look in his eyes. "I'm not leaving until WE decide where our futures lie, one way or the other."
Linda looked up at him. "I've had a very long day Vince, I don't need this."
"Well I've had a long day too, mainly worrying about if the police were going to show up and tell me you were dead or something as nobody had any clue where you were."
"I've told you where I was and what I was doing, now would you please leave!" Linda said firmly.
"No," Vince said, just as firmly. "I can't leave until we sort this mess that was once our marriage out. Then I can know if my life is over or not because I'm sick of hanging on waiting for your decision. I need to know what you're thinking."
"I'm thinking I need space."
"Bullshit! I think I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that maybe if you can stall me a bit longer, you'll suddenly know what the right thing to do is. Well I'll tell you Linda, you'll be trying to stall me for a long time 'cos it ain't gonna happen. Stop thinking and start listening to your heart. What's it telling you?" Vince didn't pull any punches, he was tired of not knowing.
"Listen to my heart? That's a laugh isn't it? Listen to my heart, do you know how many times I've listened to my heart over the years? That's all I've ever done and every time we end up in some sort of mess. I'm tired of listening to my heart, tired of it telling me that I love you so damn much that it hurts. This time I'm thinking because at least then my decisions will have some sort of logic to them." Linda let rip, all her pent up emotions were falling out of her.
"Love doesn't have any logic Linda." Vince said looking at her.
"What is love?" She asked, she was confused. If she didn't know what love was, then how could she say she loved anybody?
"I often wondered that, before I met you. You taught me what it was, you showed me how to love. I don't know about everyone else but for us, love is loving each other so much that it physically hurts, loving so much that all we've been doing the past few nights is cry ourselves to sleep because we miss each other that badly. Forgiveness, protection, honesty. The thought that we would rather die than be without each other. Like Steph said, we could run from each other but we'd never be free. That's OUR love." Vince had tears in his eyes, he had never loved her as much as he loved her right then and there. All he wanted was to hold her, to take her in his arms and tell her it would all be ok, they'd get past it, they'd be happy again.
Linda looked at him, tears were running down her cheeks. Their life together flashed before her, the first meeting, the proposal, the wedding, their children, places they had lived, the business, friends who had passed through their lives, their grandchildren, the sudden reappearance of Rachel, their fights over the years and the making up of those fights, they way they made love to each other, the look of love that passed between them every time they looked at each other. Their life hadn't been a picnic, he had done things that hurt her and she him. The one thing that remained was their love for one another. She couldn't remember her life without him, Vince was right, Linda would rather die than be on this earth without him.
"Don't cry," Without Linda realising, Vince had an arm around her waist and his other hand was gently wiping her tears away. "I can't be without you Linda, ask me to do anything else but never tell me to live without you, I couldn't do it."
Linda slowly shook her head. "Me neither."
"I love you." He said gently, whispering in her ear.
"And I love you." Linda replied.
They had overcome many obstacles in their life together and that was they key thing, they were together and at that moment they both felt they could survive anything. They lay on the bed together, in each others arms, thinking of how lucky they were. They talked until the sun came up, they sorted through a lot of things, their separate issues, the difficulties they would still have to face, their fears and innermost secrets, most of which they had never revealed to each other before.
When they could hear others bustling around in the hall, they got up and packed Linda's things and together, headed home.