October Music

He could hear their collective happiness down the hall. Sarah and Jimmy improvised on their guitars while Andy laughed and Simon's six-year-old voice sang out the chorus of the radio hit they were trying to play.

"Waaaake me up¦waaaake me up¦"

Vince stood in the bathroom a few moments longer just listening to them, taking in the sounds of their broken harmonies and their togetherness. He felt like he was listening to their love for eachother, and closed his eyes and took a mental snapshot of it. Sarah was the best lover he'd ever had...she spoiled him with her kindness and attention and could set fire to an iceberg with her eyes, but still he was a smart man and knew she would never truly be his. So he cherished this night with her, with her son, and her younger brothers. Because as a smart man also knew, casting away such a woman was a foolish thing to do, no matter the outcome.

He walked back to the bedroom bobbing his head to their jams, laughing to himself at little Simon's attempt at lead vocals. As he entered the room Sarah looked up at him and winked, sexy as hell, cranking out a string of chords.

"Hey babe" he said, and gave the boys all a nod before sitting down to check the evening's email. The amplifier was loud, and he continued to move to their jamming while he typed and Sarah shared her techniques with Jimmy, who clearly looked up to his big sister. After some time, they put their instruments down and Sarah banished the boys to the living room. She followed them out of the room, stopping for a minute to sit in Vince's lap, tugging playfully at the string on his flannel pajama bottoms.

"You relax awhile, and I'll go tire them out before it's your turn." She laughed and bit her lower lip, and kissed him passionately. He could feel the energy and the heat bouncing back and forth between them like a million microscopic balls of fire, setting their skin ablaze with the anticipation only new lovers can feel. He placed his hand on her face as they kissed and thought how soft her skin was, right where her jawbone met her neck. She pulled away from him and walked out of the room, throwing him a sideways glance, knocking him senseless with her profile. As he watched her go, he thought that men of centuries past had surely built empires fueled by the kind of beauty he saw in her smile. And even though he knew better, there were times they'd be sitting with fingers entwined and legs interlocked on the couch, watching television while Simon snuggled up next them, and he would fantasize about making her his wife. Fleeting moments like those, it felt like they could have actually been a family someday...it was so comfortable, so peaceful, and so blind.

But she was gone now, and Vince sat alone with a cigarette dangling from his hand, smiling at his brief memories of her and the love they made that October night. He knew this day would eventually come, when he'd be looking back, and he didn't care. He knew because she had spoken of another man who so obviously held her heart still. And while most men would have saddled up their pride and ridden out of her life upon that realization, Vince was not a man who let pride keep him from angels.

On the last day he would ever see her, on a rainy Friday for a quick visit so they could return some belongings to eachother, he gave her a long, tight embrace, wondering if she would ever think of him. Would she see an old movie on television years from now, one they had seen together, and smile at the memory of him? Or would he fade into a vague memory of someone she'd known for only a brief time in her life? When he left that day, Simon waved goodbye as he got in his car, and Vince waved back, thinking how the little man had no idea this would probably be the last time they'd ever see eachother. Not that the boy would remember him for very long after such a brief time, but they had some great light sabre fights and drew some cool robot pictures together...and as he drove away Vince felt the ache of their sudden void from his life. He was her comfort and her warmth, at a brief point in between her confusion and her clarity...but it was worth it, he thought, turning the corner off their street, it was worth it just to know them.