A Hope Waiting In The Dark

Reflecting

Linda yawned as she stirred the gravy, getting rid of any lumps. Quiet times like this always had her reflecting on something; recently, her mind always went to her kidnapping. Truthfully, she wasn't satisfied with the fact that the rapists hadn't been caught- or even identified, for that matter. But Danny and Maria and the family are still looking...
Her mind also compared and contrasted the rapist's moves to her husband's. Of course, Danny's were always better, but there were constant reminders of that John Doe. She still had scars on her body from the knife, which she thought would be a huge turn-off for Danny; she was convinced he would leave her when he saw how scarred she was. But he didn't- he traced the scars, kissed each one of them, and told her she was beautiful no matter what.
Linda was so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she didn't hear the door open. She didn't hear the approaching footsteps, making her jump when she felt hands on her.
"Sorry," Danny mumbled into her neck, kissing the soft skin. "Didn't mean to scare you."
"You didn't, not really," Linda's eyes had closed in relief when she heard her husband's voice. "I was just lost in thought."
"Oh." He walked to the fridge to get a beer, "good thoughts?"
"Just thoughts," she shrugged, "nothing to worry about."
"Good... did you take your pills?" It hadn't happened lately, but Linda had a problem with forgetting to take her antidepressants and anxiety pills.
"I'm gonna take 'em after dinner. Don't let me forget."
"I won't." Danny had been self-appointed as Linda's 'secretary'. At first, he kept the pills, and handed the right amount of dosage to her. When she had told him she felt better about having the pills partly in her possession, he had bought a weekly pill box. At the moment, he was just a reminder, and he'd stay a reminder until Linda would boldly proclaim, 'I can do it!'
"It was a good idea to get those pill boxes. Now either of us will forget a pill."
"Right." Danny and Linda both took vitamins; Danny also took some medicine for joint pain, and One A Day- Men's. Linda had her anxiety and antidepressants, along with One A Day- Women's. Linda knew as she and Danny got older, things would stop working, so she bought some supplements for joints, bones, muscles, etc etc.
Danny peered into the pan on the stove, "dinner for two?"
"Yeah. Sean's been on a date all day, and Jack's going out with a few buddies."
"Does it make you feel scared that Sean is almost older than we were when we met?"
"A little..." she paused, "okay, maybe a lot."
Danny chuckled and stuck his finger in the gravy.
"At least we still have each other." Linda smiled at her husband. Her therapist- Dr. Bennett- had told her to look for a silver lining in every situation. Sometimes that got on the family's nerves, but Danny was always the first one to put them in their place.
"And I'm never letting you go," he kissed her sweetly, then hugged her from behind. He nuzzled her hair, then pulled back slightly. "You got your hair done."
"Yeah..." Linda turned around to face him, hoping he liked it. "Do you like it?"
Danny smiled, stroking her new blonde locks, "I love it." He pulled her into a kiss, having no idea how his world would fall apart, yet again.