Short little Emma/Henry thing.
The apartment in question is rather spacious, with a large bay window in the master bedroom overlooking the ocean to the east. The floor is polished dark hardwood and the kitchen has marble countertops and an antique looking diner table. The walls are made of brick and the smell of burning firewood permeates the entire place.
It feels a bit like her mother's home and she's glad of it.
"So mom, do you like it?"
Emma smiles at her son – he's nearly jumping in delight at his find – and nods her head.
"I love it, kid."
"I was thinking you would get the master bedroom, obviously, and I could have the little loft upstairs. And we could have the extra bedroom be a guest room or a game room or something."
She looks up the wrought iron stairs into the loft and grins. He would want to be up there.
"Sounds great. I think we should make the extra room into a video game room. How's that sound?"
Henry smiles wide at her and Emma's heart is filled to the brim with love for her son. (She's so glad she got to be with him again. Glad she hasn't missed out on everything.)
"It'll be just like the apartment in Bo-" He stops suddenly and a shadow passes over his features. She knows it all too well, knows the confusion that clouds their minds sometimes.
That life they had together, it was never real. Not really. But to them, it was.
He looks at his mother, and she can see the conflict in him, the question that rises up even when he knows the answer. She pulls him into her arms, softly kissing the hair at the top of his head and running her fingers through it. She wishes more than anything that those memories had been the truth.
And despite everything he has now, sometimes he wishes it too.
Review?