Saudade

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break

~ Billy Joel, And So It Goes

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..the singer was startled when the door finally opened.

Reba's smile was instantly replaced by a frown and her eyebrows shot up high under her bangs.

A brunette woman opened the door, but she wasn't looking at Reba. The shorter woman was holding onto the hatch but was smiling towards someone inside the house.

"Honey, don't forget the sauce!" The brunette chuckled and shook her head before she faced front and finally noticed the person standing outside.

The beautiful woman with kind eyes seemed like she's in her late 40s or early 50s. She smiled at Reba and asked the redhead politely, "Can I help you?"

Reba's initial thought was, maybe this isn't the right house? But Reba's eyes caught the framed picture hanging on the cream-colored wall. Dadgummit.

The beautiful photograph of a mother elephant and its baby behind the brunette woman was the dead giveaway. The country singer specifically recalled Matthew talking about it animatedly one afternoon while they were passing the time watching the sunset on Reba's back porch. The former Nat Geo photographer took the image himself during one of his many visits in South Africa and said the image emulates calmness and peacefulness. Funny how Reba felt the exact opposite of those feelings at the moment.

Honey. The woman called whoever was inside the house honey.

Oh good lord, if the floor can swallow me, now would be a good time, the redhead thought to herself.

Wait, what if she wasn't referring to Matthew?

Reba probably stared at the woman longer than expected as the brunette scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion.

"Ma'am, is there something you need?"

The country singer was sure all of her blood supply had gone up to her face. She could feel how warm her cheeks were and she must be quite a sight with her red sweater on. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

Boy, oh boy. How do I get outta here?

Matthew got impatient when Maeve didn't come back from checking who was at the door, so he came looking for her. He left the kitchen and walked toward down the hallway as his gaze sought the brunette who was standing in front of his opened door.

"Who is it?"

Maeve looked at Matthew when she heard him spoke and shrugged.

Reba got her marbles back when she heard Matthew's voice. Her instinct kicked in and she had halfway turned her back--decided to just not say anything anymore when--

"Reba?"

It was almost comical how the whole scene seemed like a movie. Reba slowly turned her body back toward the door and met face to face with the man she was sure she lost. She looked at him with wide eyes for a few seconds, and finally smiled at him sadly. She could still feel how warm her cheeks were as her eyes got misty. God, she missed him. Looking at him now, she noticed that he hadn't changed at all. His scruffs still neatly trimmed--like how it was the last time she saw him. She honestly felt like it was just yesterday--that she didn't waste two months of her life for what could have been her chance to happiness again.