This is a short chapter, but I included it to show a little glimpse of the life they had together.
/
Lucy was in the kitchen cooking dinner as the sun went down on her day off a few months later. It was life as usual, and nothing really changed; they had come back from Salt Lake City and went back to their lives as they always were. The marriage license was hidden away, never to be seen by anyone's eyes but theirs. It didn't matter, they knew and that was all that mattered.
She didn't hear Mac come in and he didn't call out to her the way he usually did "Ehy Lucy, I'm home" he was trying to surprise her. He was quiet, stealth and made it all the way down the hall, past the few drawings that hung there. Some were in frames and some weren't, but he had drawn them all, Lucy thought he had real talent and never stopped telling him that.
As he came to the kitchen door Mac glanced at the latest one he had drawn of her, with her hair blowing in a breeze standing out in the desert. She insisted he hang up anything he drew, even the spider drawings he had made for her years ago. He smiled as he watched her at the stove, her hair was up in a loose bun and there were little tendrils of her dark hair hanging down over her neck. He adored her and he stood there looking at her for a few minutes.
Mac stepped closer and ran the flowers over the back of her neck, followed by his lips as she stood at the stove, no longer oblivious to his presence there. Lucy smiled, this was a side of him that few people saw, maybe just she did.
"What's this?" She turned and kissed him, " It's not my birthday."
"Don't have to be, just bringing my wife flowers."
"What did you do?"
"Nothing, surprisingly," He laid the flowers on the table and wrapped his arms around her, "Come on, turn this all off and come outside with me for a while."
Mac led her outside by the hand after he turned off the stove.
"Dinner can wait."
/
"You fascinate me," He said later as they lay in the hammock in the backyard like they did almost every night unless she was working a late shift, "You always have."
"You're fucked up," Lucy answered.
"Yeah, I am," Mac pulled her back against him, "You just figuring that out now?"
"What's so fascinating about me?"
He took her hand in his and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against him and breathing in her scent, still coconut and lemongrass.
"Everything Luce, everything." He replied, "You take me at face value, you know what a dick I am, especially if I'm using, and you still stay with me."
"Well, it says for better or for worse." She said with a laugh.
"But why cause even I know I'm a fuckin asshole sometimes." He replied, "I'm a drug addict, I gave you drugs."
"For times like these..."
"What?"
"Just...the good times are so good, they overshadow the bad and I've loved you all my life. It's all I know how to do."
"Me too Luce, me too." Mac replied, "But it won't always be good."
"I know that too." She snuggled close to him, "And I'm kind of a bitch sometimes, so we're even."
He laughed, "Kind of?"
Lucy laughed and rocked the hammock, dumping them both into the red dirt.
"See, you are such a bitch," Mac said as they rolled around in the dirt and they ended up with him on his back and her straddled over him. Lucy ran her hands over his chest and looked down at him.
"Take it back or I'm gonna make you eat dirt, Garcia," She said with a laugh and pushed his hands down over his head, but not for long, he rolled over on top of her.
"I think you're gonna be the one who eats dirt, Garcia." He touched her face and ran his fingers through her hair.
"I love you Macerio," She said softly, "I really do."
/
Lucy rolled over in bed later that night reaching for him and he wasn't there. She found him on the front porch steps smoking a cigarette and sat down next to him. For a few minutes she just looked up at the sky, it always made her feel so small, so insignificant, compared to all the stars above them.
"Can't sleep again?" She held her hand out for the cigarette and he passed it to her.
"Yeah," He answered, "Got shit on my mind..."
"Anything you wanna talk about?"
Mac shook his head, "Thought I might go for a drive..."
Lucy nodded and she stood up and took his hand.
"Come on back to bed, I'll make sure you can fall asleep," She winked and he stood up before her.
"Yeah," He brought his hands down to her waist and placed his forehead on hers, "You think so?"
She nodded and ran her hands over his back, "Mmm...hmm," She brought her lips to his ear and pushed his hair aside, "You'll be asleep in twenty minutes from now, I promise."
True to her word, Lucy fucked his brains out and left him lying dazed and staring at the ceiling with half closed eyes. She settled herself down under the crook of his arm, whatever had been bothering him was miles away now and they both fell into a peaceful sleep.