Diane out off reading the letters for as long as she could, if it were up to her she'd stay up all night just reading it, though she knew this little obsession of her was a little out of line, okay a lot, so she would distract herself to set healthy boundaries,
Diane spent the say cleaning the house, as Steve had been gone to visit his brother and also the casserole set they'd left behind after the the last time they had hosted dinner for the family,
She'd vacuumed the carpets clean, wiped the Windows down, dusted off all the residues of wind from the furniture,
Changed the linens, rearranged her closet, neatly put away any products clustering their bathroom sink, and when that wasn't enough she baked,
A marvellous blueberry pie to be exact, and then she cooked, and that took up the rest of the time, even before that was complete her mind had already started racing with anything else that could occupy her,
Her fingers twitched when she thought about setting the table, as she inched closer Steve came back, announcing his presence loudly,
"Hey honey i- woah what up with you?" He asked coat hanging limply from his arms from where he'd frozen mid way into hanging it in the coat rack,
"What? What's up with me?" Diane huffed, breathing in small puffs and hands coming up to rest at her hips as she tried to control her breathing,
Coming down from her fervent cleaninf fever or sorts by the second, effectively drenched in sweat and grime, wide eyes shadowed with a light veil of haziness, shedding by the second.
"Come on, off to the bath" Steve made quick work, hanging the coat in its respective place as he marched over to her, hands setting with a gentle firmness on top of her raised shoulders,
Before she knew it he was turning her around like a wooden doll and then pushing out of their hall and towards their bedroom,
He sat her down on the bed and rushed into the bathroom before she could protest, the noise of water flowing and filling the tub, filtered through the room, clouding everything else,
Diane just sat silently, knowing better than to protest or interject or ask questions, in her whim of not obsessing she'd made it much more worse,
She hung her head and shook it a few times, settling for keeping her eyes down, Steve rushed back out and went to their closet,
He opened it, pause, shuffling, and then closed it again with a slight creek,
He rushed back inside, only to come out for the final time after the sound of the tap water stopped,
Steve walked towards her, the sound of steps, pause, a sigh and then he was kneeling in front of her "take a bath, relax for a while, I'll set the table and anything else you ask of me" he tells her, fingers guiding her chin towards him.
"You know I will never judge you right? For anything?" Voice irrevocably soft, deep blue accents of eyes boring into the cerulean of hers,
"All I ask is for you to take care of yourself, I don't like seeing you this way" he said, lips forming a faint pout and his fingers reaching down to hold hers
"What way?" She asked just as softly "bothered" he breathed out and then pressed a kiss to her positively sweaty forehead,
By if you were to ask Steve he'd say that a little bit of sweat and grime would never be enough to separate him from her.
"Go on sweet girl, I've got it handled" he shooed her gently, as she got up along with him and walked over to the bathroom, closing the door behind.
Steve stood in the middle of their room for a while, his hands resting on his hips standing in that posture just like Diane had not too long ago.
A soft sigh leaving his parted lips and with a shake of his head he left to go get things handled.
Diane sat in the bathtub, head resting along the edge of it as she closed her eyes, revelling in the way the warm water soaked into her skin,
Sighing in relief as the stress left her body, she opened her eyes again, lifting a hand from where it was immersed in the water and stared at her hand for a while.
Looking at the shrinking crevices, effected by the water, her mind blank, she could sleep right here that's how relaxed she was,
Taking that as her cue to leave, she got out, drained the tub, and dressed herself in the clothes Steve had thoughtfully set on the sinks granite,
She walked through the house, towards the hall as the sweet smells of food entered her nose, walking with silent footsteps she sneaked up behind her fiance,
Watching him setting the table diligently, having changed from his outside wear to the casual flannel pajams and a grey t-shirt.
She told leaning on the door frame and took in the scene until a noisy grumble startled her, brows frowning as she realized it was her incessant stomach reacting to the smells wafting around the room,
Steve turned around, a smile breaking on his face when he saw Diane, her own splitting in an almost shy smile,
"M'lady" Steve cleared his throats, adding the theatrics, Diane schooled her expressions to be one of snooty pride as she walked towards him in a graceful stride,
Setting her hand in his raised one, as he gripped on firmly and helps her sit in her pushed out chair, before pushing it back in,
Their eyes meet as he sits down besides her and they break into giggles,
"So how was Edmund? And Sheila?" Diane prompted whilst they stuffed their face with the food she could barely remember cooking now,
"Mm, they're good, struggling a bit now that the kids are always home, they looked properly exgausted"
They shared a laugh,
"And the kids? How are they?" Diane asked fondly referring to his niece and nephew and her former students.
"Oh as well as they can be, you know how they are, running all ice the place" he huffed a laugh as she nodded in tandem.
The rest of the day was spent in a flurry, days were always better when they were together,
Before they'd known it, they were already sitting in their bed in the soft glow of their lamps, Diane head resting on Steve's chest,
She thought about the wedding for a while, finding it easy to get carried away with it, with Steve nose deep into a book,
She pursed her lips as she left the fantasy realm and decided to read the letters, she shifted suddenly promting Steve to look at her, just as startled,
As she stretched to pick up the box from her bedside table and opened it gently, Steve set his book aside as if getting the memo,
She picked out the first one, the one she'd already read slightly, she craned her neck to look at Steve, who looked at her with furrowed eyebrows and lips pursed and then looked back at the letter in her hand.
She looked down at the letter and unfolded it, she started reading.
Dear Matthew,
Idle time has been far and few between, and even in those quiet, little moments I think of you.
I told you I keep my promises and now you know that I never lie.
I didn't lie when I confessed darling, I hope you know that.
I know I broke your heart, It keeps me awake every night.
I keep thinking about it, your eyes, your face. I've hurt you, I never meant to.
I don't know if you would be inclined to read this, but all I can do is try and hope that it reaches you.
Sometimes I wish I hadn't done, left like that, to come running back to you but I can't.
You know I can't, I must do this.
All I can hope for is that, that this reaches you, and that you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
Yours,
Stella.
The two pair of eyes drank in the words in tandem, Diane plopped down the letter unceremoniously and folded it in record time,
Making quick work to place it in its box and turn off her lamp, Steve watched for a few moments before he followed suit.
Wrapping his arms around her and nestling her head in the crook of his neck, he breathed softly.
"Talk to me, why are you so quiet" "Don't worry I'm not upset, just need to stop obsessing you know" she shush him
"Besides I've been wanting to sleep after that lavish bath I took" she smiled into his neck and he rubbed his fingers on her scalp soothingly.
"That I won't argue with"
_________________________________________