Surviving in Harmony

Chapter Fifty-Six | Ivy House, February 2019

Chapter Fifty-Six

Ivy House, February 2019

Silence rolled through the house, seeping into corners and nooks. Picture frames hung on the walls, crooked but looked after, and books stuffed the shelves. In the bedroom over the office, Charlie lay in the bed he and Sonia had picked out together.

Staring at the ceiling, the walls they painted, he can hear her footsteps still. It is an echo that never ended, her smell never fully faded from the furniture. He loved every inch of the house, and though it made him ache from head to toe, in every artery and vein, he could not part with their home. Charlie still thought of it as their home.

Slowly, he swung his feet over the side of the bed and onto the cold floor. Her side of the bed lay untouched, as if she were still coming to bed after late night walks. In his pyjamas, a set of blue and white stripes, he opened the door to their son's bedroom. His bed was made as if done quickly, and some schoolbooks form Hogwarts still sat on the desk. A life had been lived in this room.

Next door, Charlie stood in the doorway. The bookshelves were stuffed to the brim here, too, and he could still see in his minds eye Max's crib, still dusty from the attic, by the window. If he closed his eyes, breathed in – there was Sonia, dancing to David Bowie and moving slowly, turning and spinning – right into his arms. He had dropped to his knees, kissed the slight swell that was their daughter – though they hadn't known it was a girl then – and whispered promises.

I love you You are safe We love you You are preciouse Mamma loves you We will look after you Never ever will you feel unloved in this house.

Charlie closed the door gently, shaking his head. It felt like such a long time ago now, as if it almost weren't real.

          Sonia had not been home in many years. Somehow it was odd to see how time had passed, changed Ivy House. In her mind, her home had stayed the same. Instead, the steps had sagged and the paint peeled. The locks however had not been changed.

Dusk settling outside, she opened the door and wiped her boots on the mat made of rags she had woven years and years ago, in a fit of craftiness. The pictures on the wall were mostly the same, besides a few of Max she didn't recognize. Graduation pictures.

There were small noises coming from the kitchen, familiar sounds. Heart fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird, Sonia took off her boots and moved through the small rooms. The paint on the archways between the foyer and living room, living room and kitchen, had not been painted. The furniture was in the same spot, her books still sat on the shelves. Nothing had been moved. And there, standing at the sink as if she had never left, was Charlie.

"Charlie?" it came out soft, a breathe of air held in for too long.

Glancing to his left, her form almost did not register. So many times had he turned and thought it was her, when in fact it had been a shadow, a trick of the light. "No." he breathed, dropping the dishes into the soapy water. He stepped forward, just slightly, hands still wet.

"Are you really home?" he moved forward some more, hands just hovering over her face; tears ran down both their cheeks. "Please say you're home."

"I'm home." She choked out, face crumbling.

"Oh – oh thank you."

They fell into each other, collapsed onto the kitchen floor, clinging to the other. Sonia sobbed into his neck, Charlie held her tight, limbs entangled. It felt so unreal.

"I've dreamt of this so many times," Charlie whispered into her hair, eyes squeezed tight as if she would be gone when he opened them. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too." Sonia pulled back a bit, shaking. "I'm so sorry, and if you want me to come home gradually I can, I understand –"

"No." he cut her off, cradling her face in his hands. "I don't want to ever not have you sleep by my side again."

Hugging him, Sonia cried with relief, with homesickness. "Aren't you mad?"

"No, truthfully I'm not." Charlie smiled at the cracks in the paint and her books on the walls. "We can talk later, but for now – just stay close."

"I promise I will never leave ever again," she swore. "I mean it."

Charlie held her close, breathing her in, feeling the grooves of her spine he had once memorized on a summer day. "It's okay Sonia, it's all perfectly okay."

With the darkness they crawled into their bed, entangled; not making love, not talking – just relearning everything about each other. New scars, wrinkles, hollows. Charlie sighed into his wife, love trickling through their touch. It was as if she had never left.

A/N: Awww, OTP back together again! Chonia is reunited!

Question: Next up is Max...who do you think will be the reasonable one, Max or Teddy? Will they agree? Keep your eyes peeled, I'm keeping to my schedule for once a week uploads (or more!)....

Rose