Griffin paced the living room. What was taking Melisande so long? Had she fallen asleep on the bed? He ran a hand through his hair. He’d dreamed of entering that room with her, watching her for the expressions on her face and in her eyes.

It had only taken him a couple months of being alone in Wyoming to realize he’d been foolish to leave Melisande behind. Then he’d bought the furniture and set up the purple bedroom just as she’d described it to him that night at Lookout Point — the night he’d kissed her for the first time. Her violet eyes had always drawn him in. He’d never seen eyes that color before and they were beautiful. Melisande’s every emotion shone through them with sparkles, flashes, and storms. He could drown in the depths of those violet pools. The day he’d told her they were over and he’d left, he’d seen the light in her eyes falter. Then they grew dark. He’d seen hurt in there. It had hit him like a fist to the gut, and still, he’d walked away.

The sound of movement at the top of the stairs interrupted his thoughts. He held his breath as he waited, his eyes on the stairway. When Melisande came into view, Adora on her hip, his breath caught in his throat. She must’ve brushed her hair, for now it hung in smooth waves around her face. Even with the dark circles of sleeplessness under her eyes, she was still beautiful. She stopped just a couple feet from the stairs and their gazes locked. Griffin couldn’t breath.

After a moment, his breath returned in a forceful exhale. “What are you doing here, Melisande? Did you come just to let me know about … the baby?”

Fire flashed through her violet eyes. “Her name’s Adora. And she’s only part of the reason for my coming. You left without any explanation and that has been eating me up inside. I can’t figure out what I did wrong.”

Tears pricked the backs of his eyes. “What you did wrong? You did nothing wrong.”

“Then why? I thought you loved me. You told me you did, and I … I gave you something that should’ve waited for my marriage bed.” She squeezed Adora closer to her side.

“I … I’m sorry. I was foolish and stupid, and as much as I wanted you, I … I didn’t want to be tied down.”

The corners of her mouth dipped into a frown and her eyes grew dark again. “Why did you come to Wyoming? What are you doing here?”

“I’m making rustic wood furniture and live-edge tables. I love it here in the mountains. In an area that hasn’t been developed into towns and neighborhoods. I breathe clean air.” His words came quick and he smiled.

She took a step closer to him. “You like being alone.”

His smile slipped. A moment passed. Then, “I did. At first. But I couldn’t get you out of my head.”

“Yet you never called. Not even a text. You haven’t even been back to see your parents.”

“It’s only been a few months.”

“A year, Griffin! It’s been a year. Right after you left, I found out I was three months pregnant. Six months later, Adora was born, and she recently turned six months old. Do the math.” She glared at him with a challenge in her eyes.

Griffin’s gaze dropped to the floor. “A year. How has that much time passed?”

“I guess you really do like it here by yourself.” She strode across the living room toward the kitchen.

Griffin turned and followed. “Where are you going?”

She spun around to face him. “I don’t know. But obviously you’re quite happy here. Alone. You don’t even realize how much time passes. I imagine you don’t need a woman and a child to ruin what you’ve obtained and are so happy with.”

Before Griffin could form a word, Melisande carried Adora through the front door. When it slammed, reality hit him. She was leaving. He ran after her.

“Melisande, wait!”

Luxury Log Cabin Washington from media.glampinghub.com

At the top of the stairs, Melisande paused to peek into an open door on the right. Her eyes scanned the rumpled bed, a pair of jeans, and a red flannel shirt tossed on the floor. Must be Griffin’s room.

She walked a few steps farther down the hallway and found a closed door on the left. She turned the knob and stepped into a room with a plush purple carpet and a queen size canopy bed with a bedspread and curtains, tied to each post, the same color as the carpet. Two large windows with sheer lavender curtains allowed the waning sunlight to shine through. She nearly tiptoed across the room to the bed afraid of tracking dirt on the carpet. She paused by the bedside and fingered the curtains attached to the nearest post.

Adora let out a wail, alerting Melisande to her reason for being in this room. She lay her baby on the bed and pulled a changing pad, container of wipes, and a diaper out of the bag. She changed her little girl, placed her back on her hip, then stepped over to a simple small vanity table and stool. She looked in the small mirror that sat on the table. “Ugh, there’ll be no impressing anyone looking like this — my hair needs brushed and there are dark circles under my eyes, and my lips are dry and cracked.”

Adora grunted and pulled a handful of Melisande’s hair. “Right. What am I thinking? He left me long ago without another phone call or text. No reason to think he’ll take me back now. Besides you’re hungry.” Melisande plopped down onto the vanity stool and opened the top buttons to the midway point on her blouse and positioned Adora to feed her. Adora latched on and sucked with fervor. “Ouch! Take it easy, Adora.” Melisande ran her fingers through her baby’s fine, soft strawberry blonde curls. Adora had Griffin’s hair color and skintone. She had his smile too. Yeah, every time her baby smiled at her, Griffin returned to her mind.

As Adora nursed, Melisande couldn’t keep from looking at that bed again. Why did Griffin have such a feminine room set up — a room in the color purple with a bed like she’d always wanted? Griffin had always been fascinated by her violet eyes. Said they were the thing that attracted him to her and that he loved best about her.

She closed her eyes and her mind went back to the night Griffin had taken her to Lookout Point back in Pennsylvania. They’d sat on a blanket on the bed of his pickup and watched the sun go down over the glorious mountain view. That night Griffin had kissed her for the first time. He’d asked her what her dream home looked like. She’d told him she didn’t have it all figured out yet, but she knew she wanted a front porch with a nice view, and she’d described her bedroom — this bedroom.

Two weeks later, Griffin had taken her to the beach. They’d walked on the beach hand-in-hand. That night, he’d talked her into getting a hotel room on the beach instead of driving back home. He told her he loved her, and she’d given him something she knew was meant for her future husband. After that night, she’d struggled with guilt over what they’d done, and Griffin had promised she had no reason to feel guilty. He’d promised he’d marry her, but when she wanted to know when, he said he had to figure some things out first. Three months of putting her off, and then he told her they were through and he left town without giving a reason.

Melisande looked down at her precious baby, the only thing about that night that she didn’t regret. Adora was sound asleep. Melisande brushed the backs of her fingers down the baby’s soft, warm cheek. “Oh Adora, did I make a mistake bringing you here? What on earth am I doing? We’ve traveled so far. What will we do if he throws us out? It’s a long trek back to Pennsylvania from Wyoming.”

Photo from wallpapercave.com

As I drove down the dirt road, a wooden fence stretched for several miles on my right. On the other side of that fence, a green meadow provided food for a herd of sheep, before I passed a barn with a wheat field behind it. Next came a small cabin.

Straight ahead of me, a few miles in the distance, sat a small homestead with a large line of golden brown craggy rock mountains jutting from the land into the beautiful clear blue sky lined with white cotton clouds.

I took a deep breath as I stared in awe at the beauty before me. How could anyone take in such a spectacular scene and still question the existence of God, the mighty creator?

An infant’s hungry cry broke through the majesty of the moment. I reached a hand over to the carseat buckled in next to me. “Shh, Adora, I know you’re hungry and your diaper probably needs changed, but we’re almost there. The homestead is just ahead.”

Adora cried louder.

I sighed. “Yes, I know. I, too, wonder if we will be welcomed or turned away.” I put both hands on the wheel again, gripping it until my knuckles turned white. “What will we do? Where will we go if he turns us away?”

                     * * * * * * * *

The purr of an engine and the crunch of ground drew Griffin’s attention from the newspaper he was reading. He rose from his wooden chair at the oak table and Finnegan meowed from his mat by the fireplace. Griffin moved to the kitchen sink and looked out the window toward the road. He watched as a Classic 1968 red Ford Mustang drove toward his homestead, a cloud of dust in its wake.

“What the…” He leaned toward the window. “No, it can’t be.” He remained glued to the spot, his eyes locked on the car, as his heartbeat pounded a faster rhythm.

The Mustang pulled into the dirt lane and drew up to the front of the cabin, before it came to a stop. Griffin couldn’t move, as he waited to get a good look at the driver. Several minutes passed, his heart still thumped in his chest, causing him to wonder if he were having a heart attack, but there wasn’t any pain.

After several more minutes, the driver’s door opened and a brown leather boot beneath a bluejean-clad leg landed on his dirt lane. A petite woman, with chocolate brown waves of hair falling around her face, stood, placing a strawberry blonde infant on her hip.

Griffin’s breath caught in his throat and he coughed, trying to regain his breath. He watched as the woman stepped onto his front porch and approached his door. Still unable to move, even though the woman and baby were no longer in his line of sight.

Her knock seemed to loosen his feet and he moved toward the door with caution. He took a deep breath and blew it out in a great gust before opening it. When he did, his feet seemed to once again grow roots where he stood as he looked into the woman’s violet eyes. He cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the lump that seemed to prevent him from talking.

“Melisande, what are you doing here?”

“You’re a hard man to track down, Griffin, but I figured it was about time you meet your daughter.” She turned the baby on her hip, so he could get a better look at her face. Though her hair was strawberry blonde and her skin peaches and cream, she had her mother’s violet eyes. “This is Adora.”

The child stared at him for a moment, then began to cry.

“Look, can we come in? We’ve been on the road for days and stayed in a hotel or two, but we’ve been driving now for four hours straight and she’s hungry and needs a diaper change.”

Griffin’s head spun. Where? How … no, forget that one, he knew how. He couldn’t form words. He stepped aside and Melisande stepped through the entrance. He watched her eyes scan the kitchen and the open doorway to the living room. Then she looked at him. “You got an extra bedroom where I can feed and change her?”

He pointed her to the stairway along the right wall of the living room. “Up those stairs, first door on your left.”

Finnegan stood, arched his back, and meowed as he eyed the stranger, as Melisande walked past him without a glance.

Griffin watched as Melisande climbed the steps without hesitation, like she belonged here. A knot formed in his stomach. He’d left Melisande behind months ago, told her they were over. Now she was in his home and she had his daughter. His daughter. What on earth was he going to do now?

(Note: I had planned this to be a Flash Fiction story, but the characters in my head often take over and determine where the story goes. I wasn’t planning on a baby being part of this story, but as I was writing in a local coffee shop, she was suddenly there. And the last words I wrote in the coffee shop were “What will we do? Where will we go if he turns us away?” and when I sat down to finish the story here, I soon found that this is going to be longer than a Flash Fiction story. I hope you’ll enjoy it and go along for the ride. I’ll add to it every Friday until it comes to an end.)