Hi Everyone! Well, I did not think that SANDITON would inspire me to write again. It's just a fluffy piece and one pager but I felt it and thought it should be seen and hopefully appreciated by other fans of SANDITON. Would love to hear an opinion on this or Sanditon itself. LOVE - CAREBEARMAXI
PURE LOVE
His gaze was of pure encapsulation. His eyes followed her every move no matter what activity. She could simply be cooking a meal, arranging flowers, or even playing a little piano and as she looked up she would catch his eye and give him a little knowing smile that said silently that he should not be staring at her in that manner whether she was his wife or not especially in company; however, most times she radiantly smiled back reflecting the joy and love in her eyes as well.
She was just as captivated. Similarly, her big brown eyes would gaze at him as he played with their children or talked to his brother or if he pursued any endeavor where she could just surreptitiously gaze on him and know that he was hers and she was his…completely…irrevocably.
I also found that mom could be girlish when she and my aunt, Susan, (married to my Uncle Sam, dad's brother) would get together and drink their tea or sit at the beach enjoying some fresh air and sunshine. Both would laugh hysterically and cheer on their respective men in any contest that was the battle of the day. My older sister, Leo, always wanting to be a boy, it seems, joined in as well and could give as good as she got. Sometimes dad despaired of her ever finding a husband.
It is not that my parents never argued. On the contrary, their arguments could be volatile and loud. Somehow, though, it never occurred to me to be afraid that my life and the life of my siblings would change by them breaking up; for, the next day they would both gaze at each other and when they thought no one was watching kiss and talk softly to one another just as if there had never been an blazing argument just a day ago.
From the information I received from my big sister (half-sister), the pleasant lifestyle and happy home was not always that way. From the day Miss Charlotte Heyward came into Mr. Alexander Colbourne's life, the house became a home and dad underwent such a material change that it was apparent to everyone including all of Sanditon. This was according to Leonora and Augusta. In fact, it was mom who was finally able to teach Leonora how to be a girl and Augusta a young woman in preparation for their coming out into the world as both my relatives lost their respective mothers who were sisters.
She was also to blame for my father's regained interest in the world and his family again and his desire to play a part in it. Before that father could be found lost in daily doldrums of managing the estate, riding his large black horse on long lonely trails through the woods or on the beach or taking impromptu trips to London for…Lord knows what purpose!
My mother is not only a mother to my older sister, two little sisters, and a little brother and me but she is also a schoolteacher. My father carries my youngest sibling in his arms walking to the schoolhouse by the sea where my mother's formal name Mrs. Colbourne is emblazoned over the door and retrieves my mother and the rest of his young brood every day in the late afternoon, and we all walk home together hand-in-hand sedately or run races to see who gets home first. My cousin Augusta is also a teacher there, but she no longer lives in our home as she has since married and is now expecting a baby of her own.
Now, as I agonize over my piano scales, I catch mother and father sitting on the small loveseat together drinking tea. Father leans over and kisses my mother on the cheek to which she smiles dimpling and lowering her eyes coquettishly. It is amazing to me that after five children and many, many years of marriage they still look at each other as if they are courting reflecting not only their deep love, passion, and warmth for one another but respect for who they are not only together but separately.
Looks as if my mother has made my father smile…really smile. He gently places a hand on her belly. Father touches my mother without compunction without hesitation. He always shows her affection. I hope to experience that kind of love someday.
I am, after all, the first product of their love…Alexandra Mary Colbourne.