Restoring Love

Chapter 1: A Glimpse of Pink

Adrian wrapped his fingers around his steaming cup of black coffee and walked back to his study. It was early September and LA was supposed to be warm but it felt as if winter had arrived in the Richards villa. Of course, his ex-wife Lana had quietly glided in the early morning hours and turned the temperature down to sub-zero like she still owned the place.

As he strolled by the hefty stack of boxes near his old bedroom, a grin played across his face. Though he had purged anything that even vaguely hinted at Lana's presence a while back, she had rolled in to reclaim the last of her stash.

Not wanting to waste any time, he got behind his desk, sipped his coffee, and got cracking with his Zoom meetings for the day. The rich taste of the strong Colombian brew pushed away any remnants of sleep that might have been lurking.

It was only around noon when he was finally done, and as he was powering off the laptop, someone entered his study without permission. Out of the two people allowed to do so, he knew it was the one he did not wish to see.

"Things don't seem to have changed much around here."

The subtle taunt in Lana's sultry voice made Adrian scowl. "Yeah. Some things never do. Which reminds me, how is your current boyfriend?"

A sad smile crossed Lana's face as she took the seat opposite him.

Neither spoke for a while till Lana broke the silence.

"Can't believe it's been two years since I moved out. How've you been Adrian?"

Lana had stopped affecting him a long time back but the little reminder made him think of his daughter. Within days of Lana's departure, his daughter Kimberley had also moved out.

"What do you want Lana?" His voice came out sharper than intended.

Lana could not look into his eyes as she answered with an uncharacteristic softness in her voice. "I don't know, Ad. This friction between us is not nice. We were friends before everything else. I wish someday we can go back to that."

"After all that has happened... all that you did, you want to get back to being friends?" Adrian scoffed.

Shaking his head, he pushed his chair back before getting up and walking up to the window at the back.

"My daughter blames me because of you. She moved out within days of you leaving. Despite living in the same city, I haven't seen her in months. She hasn't even spoken to me in weeks."

Adrian's jaw clenched.

Tuning her out, he focused on the view outside the window. Red lilacs were in full bloom, something that the extreme heat in the city had triggered.

He had almost blocked out Lana until he heard, "I've started seeing a therapist, Ad. I'm trying to work through the guilt and self-loathing I've had for myself. But I am making progress. I want to see you move on as well. Perhaps, somewhere it will free me."

Suddenly he noticed two hummingbirds hovering over the lilacs and his eyes widened. Despite all the landscaping the little birds had never crossed his gardens before. Until then. A warmth spread within him at the view. He decided to set up a tiny birdhouse for them.

His eyes only briefly flickered over Lana as he turned around and walked back to his desk. "You are free. My not being attached to anyone else has nothing to do with you. Zero." He picked up his phone and added, "I moved on from you long back."

Not wanting to be in her presence anymore, Adrian strode to the door and opened it before saying, "Goodbye, Lana. Take care of yourself."

"Wait. I spoke to Kimmy. She was willing to listen and meet up. Maybe you can also..."