A Perfect Setting

The setting looked perfect, and anticipation rushed through me. This is it! I thought. The beginning of a new life! A life as perfect as this setting: a lovely Fall day, just cool enough without being chilly, a pristine white tablecloth, bread and wine and fruit. Perfect.

He should be here any minute now. Yes, the slam of a car door signaled his arrival. The sound of the taxi faded as it departed. I stood beside the prettily-set little table, smoothing my skirt nervously. I pasted a smile on my face and turned to face him.

“Jeez, Lola,” he growled impatiently, “whatcha wanna meet here for? Middle of nowhere!” He glanced disdainfully around at the beautiful, remote park. “I wasn’t even sure it was the right place!” he continued. “Til I saw your car.”

“Well, you’re here now,” I smiled, my face aching with the effort. “And we’re together. That’s all that matters.”

“Yeah. Well. No thanks to you that we’re together,” he grumbled. “If I hadn’t seen you in that news video, I’d’a never found you. What was up with that, anyhow?”

He stepped closer to me. Too close. He was looming over me, crowding me, intimidating me with his sheer size. Like he always did.

I took a step away from him, but he reached out and grabbed me by the wrist. My fair skin turned white under the pressure of his fingers, and I knew I would have a bruise there later. But I mustn’t fight him. Not here. Not now.

So I smiled and said, playfully, “Now, now, let’s not ruin this beautiful setting by rehashing past history. I was silly, running away like that. I just needed to clear my head, go off by myself for a little while and have a good think. And it helped! It’s all so clear now!”

With my hand still gripped in his, I reached up to stroke his cheek lovingly, gazing soulfully into his eyes. He hesitated, then released my wrist. I added another gentle touch, brushing his hair back along his neck. He smiled, eating it up.

That’s right, I thought. Smile. You think you’ve won, don’t you?

I continued the script I’d prepared. “I mean, I know now that we’re meant to be together! I guess I just wasn’t ready for it yet. Silly me! But we’re here now. Together again.”

I stepped away from him, approaching the pretty table. “How about a toast?”

The two glasses I had poured just before his arrival sparkled in the sun, cradling the blood-red wine. Carefully choosing the right one, I brought him his glass, then returned to the table for my own.

“To a new beginning,” I offered, clinking my glass with his.

“Sure, Baby,” he said, drinking his glass dry in one gulp. He held it for more. I hastened to refill it. We toasted again. He gulped. I sipped. The wine bottle emptied.

His face began to turn red. He seemed to be having trouble breathing.

“Oh, Darling, are you feeling okay?” I asked solicitously. He shook his head, his eyes losing focus. “Maybe you need a walk. Come on, I’ll help you.”

I draped his arm around my shoulders, suppressing a shudder, and wrapped my arm around his waist. Slowly, staggering a little, I walked with him, supporting him as he stumbled. We made our way away from the table, across the little field, to the edge of the cliff.

“Here, Baby, sit right here,” I invited him, helping him to lower himself onto a rock at the edge of the abyss. A carefully selected rock. “Right…here….”

As he settled his bulk on the unstable rock - it was such a perfect setting! - I released his waist and slipped out from under his arm. I stood back, behind him, safely out of reach. He moved, shifting his weight, leaning forward to stare groggily over the side, rocking the unstable perch.

And fell. The man. The rock. My past. Tumbling into oblivion, crashing on the wave-lashed rocks below.

I turned and walked back to the table. Raised my glass to the sun.

“To a new beginning.”