Lyssiah screamed at Spike as she picked up a Japanese stained glass vase from Venus and chucked it at him. "You can't make things new just by saying I love you!"
Spike caught the vase, but then Lyssiah threw a large art book and he dropped the vase to catch the book. The glass ornament shattered into a million colorful pieces on the floor. Spike felt his heart would do the same thing at any moment. Lyssiah had never been this mad at him before. She had the right to be though. He had been staying in her condominium and playing the role of her lover, yet Julia had still been on his mind. He in fact, took a chance and went to look for Julia again. Nothing turned up. Just the same death certificate he had seen a billion times before… Lyssiah began to yell at him again while throwing random objects.
"She's gone Spike, you have to accept that eventually." With tears in her eyes, she continued. "But I'm not going to stick around until you do realize it!"
Her voice broke and stammered because of her sobbing. Lyssiah loved Spike dearly, but she couldn't put up with his relentless searching to find out whether or not Julia was dead or not. She wouldn't put up with it any longer. She picked up the Jazz record he bought her on Jupiter and tossed it at him like a Frisbee. He dropped everything else she was throwing and grabbed the record.
"You didn't have to throw this at me!" Spike chanted at her. He took a few steps toward her and spoke. "You're breaking my heart Lyss."
"Oh! I'm breaking your heart!" Spike now knew from Lyssiah's retort that that was the wrong thing to say. "You have been breaking my heart every time you leave to find her. Then you come back depressed and I comfort you and say that everything will be ok. You don't have to look any farther than the graveyard here on Mars Spike. There she is, eight feet underground. And I'm here and obviously alive. But still you search. I can't take it anymore!"
At that point, Lyssiah pitched her old softball at him. Spike held the record in his arms and took the softball strike right in the face. Stumbling back, he regained his balance on the bookshelf behind him. The softball left a large purple bruise. Lyssiah gasped as she watched a welt grow on his face and the color purple spill over it. Her hands went to her face. Her eyes grew wide. Spike could see her hands were shaking. At this point she stomped over to the door of her place and swung it open.
"Get out."
"Lyss, I'm sorry I…" Spike was cut short as she screamed again.
"GET OUT!"
Once again, Spike found himself without a home to go to or a warm body to sleep with. He dearly loved Lyssiah, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to save everything she was tossing at him. He hadn't felt this strongly about a woman since Julia. Lyssiah made him feel alive and passionate again. Yet he would keep searching for Julia. Maybe it was for closure, maybe he missed her. He couldn't tell at this moment. All he knew right now is that his heart was breaking just like the vase in the house.
Lyssiah closed the door and Spike could hear her yelling sobs even 20 feet away sitting down on the curb. He could imagine what she looked like right now. Her tiny hands shaking in anger and sorrow, covering her tear stained face. Spike felt his heart pump hard and a lump consume his throat. Then there was a pounding sound. Like fists hitting an old oak door. That would be Lyssiah's front door. Spike stood up and began to walk to the entrance.
Pressing his face to it he whispered into the door. "I'm sorry Lyssiah. I'm so, so sorry. Please let me in. Please forgive me. I love you." It was what he had said to her when Lyssiah had found another copy of Julia's death certificate sitting on top of her dresser.
All the sudden a voice came through the door to answer him. "I wish I could Spike, but I can't. It would just be another invitation to let you walk all over me." Lyssiah paused to cough a few times. "I'm sorry Spike, I love you, but I can't take you back. I can't open this door again for you."
Spike then punched the door hard enough to put a decent sized crack in it. He heard Lyssiah gasp again and then scramble away from the door. "I refuse to lose you! Now that I have you in my life again, I refuse to let you slip through my fingers. I let you leave once, I won't let it happen again!"
Spike had to think of something. Fast. Or else he really was going to loose Lyssiah. He had to do something that would be more than words could say. Spike had to prove his love to her. The ache in his heart spread to his chest as he ran into downtown Mars. The record still clenched under his arm.
The shops in downtown Mars were still hopping with customers and vendors even this late in the afternoon. They were all chanting one thing or another. Fresh Fish here, perfume there… Then Spike found it. He found Lyssiah's favorite music shop. It had a record player that was older than the both of them. He figured it would make a nice gift for Lyssiah since she broke hers throwing it in the fight. He wondered how a girl Lyssiah's size could just pick up and chuck a large record player, but just thinking about it brought him more pain.
The record player didn't set him back much, so this left Spike plenty of money to maybe take Lyssiah out to a nice diner. That is if she even wants to speak to him again. He had been promising her a dinner at The Giraffe for a long time. It was an expensive swanky place that had suite and tie regulations. Spike hated to dress up, yet he bit his lip and made reservations for 9pm.
While strutting back down the street toward Lyssiah's home, Spike spotted a flower vendor. Stopping to look, the man of course pushed one color of roses after another into his face. He smiled nicely at the old man while in his mind he thought Lyssiah wouldn't fall for the traditional roses. I have to pick something else. Something special. Something that will let her know I really will change. That I really do love her… Now what was her favorite flower?
Spike's brain worked over time as his eyes past by Roses, Azalea's, Violets, Jasmine's, Daisy's. There were so many flowers of all colors that he couldn't remember all the names. Then the wrinkled old man spoke to him.
"You know," The man's gruff voice cracked softly as he pointed a wilted finger at Spike. "For about thirty Woolongs, I'll let you make your own arrangement of flowers for her. I can tell what happened to you just by the look on your face. Trying to remember her favorite flower, huh?"
Spike nodded in shock and compliance.
"Well bring her a bunch of different one's. It will prove to her that you cared enough to pick each one out yourself." The old man winked and Spike could swear there was a twinkle in his eye.
The old man at the flower stand obviously knew what he was talking about. Probably about a thousand people had stopped here to pick up something for their significant other after a fight or returning home from a flight or many other reasons. So Spike hawked up the thirty requested Woolongs, and made himself a bouquet that any woman's heart would melt over. He only prayed that it worked on one…
Spike walked right back up to Lyssiah's front door and knocked on it. "Special delivery for Lyssiah Stormwhisper…"
The door was agitatedly jerked open to reveal a still crying Lyssiah, mascara running down her face. Her lipstick didn't exist anymore. Then the door was just about to close again, but not before Spike slammed his hand on it. He held it open and revealed the bouquet to her.
Lyssiah's shaking hands returned to her face. "Oh Spike." She murmured. "It's beautiful. But you're not getting off that easy. I still can't…" She was cut off.
"Wait, that's not all."
Spike stepped aside to show the new old record player that Lyssiah had been pining over ever since they began living together. Her face lost all its precious pink color as she knelt down beside it.
"Oh my god Spike."
"That's not all."
"What?"
"Go put on the nicest dress you have. We have reservations at Nine O clock sharp."
Lyssiah stood in silence. She was shocked by Spike. Never had he ever done anything like this for her before. Her arms flew around him and pulled him close to her.
"Does this mean this is the last time you're going hunting for Julia down now that you know you have a good woman right here?"
"Yes, now get dressed silly, or we'll be late."