An Affair To Forget
It was late on a Saturday night and as usual Piper was having a difficult time getting to sleep. She had been up watching Wyatt sleep but when she laid down on her bed for the night the spot where Leo used to sleep was empty. She knew he was where he needed to be but it didn't make her nights any easier. He had been gone two weeks now and she hadn't had a good night's sleep since he left. She decided to go up to the attic and finish tiding it up. She had been working on tiding up the attic for days now and was nearly finished. An hour later she was working on the last set of drawers. There in the bottom of the drawer was a leather bound book. She picked it up and flipped it open.
1931 P. Baxter-Johnson
The first page read. Piper snuggled into one of the couches in the room and read on.
I write this to you as my final goodbye. I must erase you from my mind. You will never leave my heart but as the child inside me goes larger everyday I must find a way to put her first. It has been seven years since I last held you and there is not a minute in the day that I do not think about you. I only wish that this child were yours and not his. Our love will live on in my heart forever but I can't keep putting you first. So my thought is if I immortalize you in writing I will never truly forget what we had. In order to fully understand our love I must start at the beginning. Not just the beginning of our life together but at the beginning of my life.A shiver ran through Piper's body. She set the book on her lap and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and surrounded herself in it. The realization of what this book was suddenly come rushing to her.
"Baxter. Oh my God this is our story. The story of my past life with Leo." She paused and reread the first part again. "1931 that is the year that Grams was born." She read on.
I Portia Baxter was born on September 16th, 1897 into the wealth of my father's good name. My father was one of the leading doctors in San Francisco. He was a gentle, kind and loving man. My mother was spirited person, full of life and determined to make all who surrounded her happy. As an only child all of my desires were fulfilled as a small child.
However in 1906 an earthquake shook my world up and destroyed half of the city as well. It wasn't until much later in my life that I was informed of the significance of the quake in my destiny. Hundreds of lives were lost including my Aunt and Uncle's lives. It was at that point that my two cousins came to live with us. Paris was two years older than I. She was the natural child of my Aunt and Uncle and over the years we became very close. Payton was three years senior to I. She was in fact my third cousin. Her mother was cousin to my mother and Aunt. When Payton was just a young infant her mother left on my Aunt's doorstep. The identity of her father was never known and her mother was never seen again. My Aunt being the kind woman she was never hesitated about taking the small child into her home and family. And so upon their death both Paris and Payton joined our family. Although we had a modest house prior to the earthquake my father took it upon himself to build us a new home. The house is now affectionately called The Manor. Nearly twice the size of our last home it still only contained three bedrooms. It was decided that Payton was to have her own room and Paris and I were to share. My mother put it that Payton was a young lady and needed her privacy where as Paris and I were still children and could share.
We lead a happy existence as a family. Paris became my best friend while Payton remained more distant. Upon my sixteenth birthday my world was turned upside down once again. My mother brought us three girls all together one afternoon. She explained that our heritage was much more than we had previously believed. We came from a long line of witches. It was at that point that she explained the importance of the earthquake that claimed Paris's parents. The quake was an aftershock of a great battle that was fought by my mother, aunt, uncle and two other cousins. Our house had been built on the site and the reason for the battle. For underneath the structure was the source of great power, a true Wiccan and spiritual nexsis. They had reclaimed the site for good magic and my mother believed that the only way to keep it in the family and under their control was to build the manor on top of it. That was the day that our magic training began.
Three years later I suffered the biggest loss of my life at that point. My father suddenly died of a heart attack, my mother two weeks later of a broken heart. They had been true lovers in every sense of the word. She simply could not imagine living without him and could not go on. Her dying words to me came out as both a demand and wish. She told me to never let the manor leave our family and to fall in love as often as possible. She said that love is the greatest gift of all and made me promise her that I would fight for the true loves of life and never let them go. At that she silently closed her eyes and drifted off to meet my father once again.
Tears started to well up in Piper's eyes. She could feel the loss through the pages and her heart knew what it was like to lose the love of her life.
With my parent gone we needed to find some way to support ourselves and maintain the manor. Although my father had left me with a substantial estate it still would not last a lifetime. The three of us decided to take a small part of the estate and turn the main level of the manor into a gathering place, a place where people could meet and enjoy life. It was 1920 and country was alive with a renewed sense of hope. The closure of the war had brought the best out in people. They wanted to be free and live their lives to the fullest. Paris had been involved in photography since she was a young teen and decided to set up a portrait studio in the conservatory. Ever since Payton had learned about our magical heritage she had been consumed with finding out more and more. She became known in town for her potions and charms. Although most people believed her magic was fun and games they flocked to her for solutions with love and relationships. Magic was a great mystery than and people were intrigued by it. So she also set up a small booth in the manor where anyone could have their past, present, or future lives exposed to them or purchase the latest love potion. So that me to take care of the rest. I managed the bar, the kitchen, and all of the employment. It was because of this that I met Gordon. Bartenders, kitchen staff and busboys were no trouble to find. Every male wanted a job that put him in front of dozens women on a daily basis. They all could flirt, and gussy the women up. Musicians on the other hand were proving to be a challenge to find. There were lots available but I was in search of something special. I had been auditioning people for three days straight and sure they could play but they were missing that certain desire. Gordon was my last candidate on the third day and he was twenty minutes late. I figured he was a no show when the door bell rung. I answered it, figuring that he would be another let down but when I opened the door there was this six foot tall, brown haired, green eyed gentleman. He was more humble than the others. They had all been sleek and mysterious, which is one reason why I turned them away. Gordon seemed gentle from the first time I saw him. He apologized several times for being late as I showed him to our newly purchased piano. One thing that struck me was that he carried no music with him. He sat down at the piano and took a few minutes to run his soft fingers along the ivory keys almost like a handshake, introducing himself to the instrument. He started to play but unlike the others who played the latest and hippest song out he started with a classic Mozart ballad. The music seemed to fill the house and enter my body from the first note. A few minutes later he shifted into a slightly faster song. Still not the type that would fill a dance hall but it had rhythm and passion. He than shifted into a piece that made my feet want to jump up and dance the night away. It was lively and full of colour. Only seconds after he moved back into a slow waltz and my body swayed to the melody. He finished long before I wanted him to. My eyes had been closed the entire performance and when I opened them back up he had turned his body to face mine and was sitting as straight as any gentleman could. His eyes were sparkling but he did not bare a huge grin that boosted he had done a fabulous job instead a gentle smile lay across his face. I hired him on the spot.
Gordon quickly made it clear that he was interested in me and wished to see me outside of the manor. I on the other was not ready to be pursued. My parent's death had left a large hole in my heart and I needed the time to recover. He understood this but did not stop his conquest for me. The other reason that I stayed my distance was that although I trusted him and felt that he was a good man there was this feeling in my gut that he was not my soul mate. It was my mother's voice 'fall in love as often as you can' that finally made me give in to him and by the end of 1920 we were officially courting. By the spring of 1921 he proposed marriage. It was a short engagement. The wedding took place on July 22nd, 1921. It was a small wedding with my cousins as my bridesmaids. We held it in the manor gardens and had a reception inside for the 35 guests that had attended. The only thing missing was my parents. I wore my mother's gown in order to help bring her closer to the event. We had a happy marriage and did love each other. That was until the summer of 1923. That is when you, Leopold Wyattson entered my life and changed it forever.
Through the beat of your heart, the vision of your eyes, the sound of your voice and the words you hear I will relive the past and all will be revealed. Our love so true and our bound so strong this is the only way for me to move on.
Piper suddenly felt a warm sensation flow through her. She closed her eyes and when she opened them she was in her bedroom but it wasn't her bedroom. The décor was completely different and the pictures that adorned the walls were of her and Dan. She felt weird almost like she wasn't there at all.
