Sincerely, Aurora [completed]

~Twenty-One~

Jude Christopher Brahm,

I don't have anything to say that won't make me hurt more and depress you, so I won't say anything but this:

I love you, and I remember everything about you, and it's your birthday, and my God...

I love you.

I love you.

And I can't stop crying.

~ ~ ~

It was that day...

The last breakfast together...

The last, "Goodbye, baby, I'm leaving for work now," kiss...

The last wave...

God, it seems like the last everything to me.

My last moment as a whole person...

My last thought as an uninjured soul...

My last touch without an ache behind it...

It was everything, but it also took everything. After all, Jude, it took you.

Perhaps I'm foolish for feeling so strongly, but I don't really care because you deserve all of the emotion I have. (And trust me, I have enough for the both of us, and all of our family.)

I got up extra early and made waffles that morning.

"Hey, baby," you said when you walked into the kitchen. "Good morning."

I smiled, forking a finished waffle off of the griddle. "Good morning."

You came up behind me and hugged me, pressing a kiss to my neck. You smelled like toothpaste, aftershave, and clean clothes.

It was a wonderful smell.

I turned and kissed you full on the lips, smiling brightly. "Waffles sound good?"

(Even though I was already making them and it didn't really matter what you said.)

"Mm," you said. "That sounds amazing."

I poured in a cup of batter for the next waffle as you made your way across the kitchen.

You poured yourself a cup of coffee and smiled at me. "I like your hair like that."

I pressed a hand against my curls, knowing full well that they were a mess and completely wild. "Thank you. I like yours, too."

Your hair wasn't much better, and I could tell by the wry grin you flashed that you knew it.

"Any dreams last night?" you asked, sipping your coffee. You wrinkled your nose and added more sugar.

I shrugged. "I have vague recollection of sleeping with a man, but aside from that, no."

You laughed. "Fair enough. I had one."

"Oh?" I looked at you expectantly. "What was it about?"

"I'm not too sure," you replied, "but I think it was something about traveling somewhere."

I chuckled, rolling my eyes. "You know as well as I do that there is not enough money to go anywhere right now."

"Right now, but soon that may not be the story."

I forked the last waffle out of the griddle and set it on the plate with the others. "That's true, I suppose. Get those plates, will you, love?"

The thought of traveling anywhere gave me butterflies.