Silas Kember's Arc

Chapter 7 of 10

Vera walked away into the dark. Silas did not chase her. Nora still held his arm, and his feet would not move. He turned back to the woman with red hair. She smiled at him the way she had years ago, before she left. "Sit with me," Nora said. "We never finished talking." They walked to the glowing tree in the square. Pink light fell over the stones. Nora sat on the bench beneath its lit branches. She pulled off one paint-flecked glove and set her easel at her feet. "You still wear the glasses I picked," she said. "You still smell like ink." Silas sat. For a long while they talked. She told him about the towns she had painted, the years she had wasted missing him. He told her about the bakery, about the letters. They laughed once, soft and easy. The old warmth was still there. He felt it in his chest like a coal that never went cold. "I came back for you," Nora said again. She reached for his hand. "I'm yours, Silas. I always was." Silas looked at her hand on his. He did love her still. That was the truth. But another truth sat beside it. "Nora," he said. "I love you. I can't pretend I don't." She leaned in. He lifted his free hand between them. "But I can't tell you I'm only yours. Not tonight. There's someone else in me too. I won't lie to you about it." Nora pulled her hand back slow. Her smile stayed, but her eyes changed. "Then I'll wait," she said quietly. "I've waited this long." She stood, picked up her easel, and walked off beneath the glowing branches. Silas let her go. He had not ended it, and he had not chosen her. But he had told her the truth. Then he ran. He found Vera at her cottage by the water. Swans slept on the dark lake. A lantern burned over her door. Vera opened it before he knocked, arms crossed. "I'm sorry," Silas said, breath short. "I hugged her because my body forgot. Not my heart. Vera, I love you. I do." "But?" Vera said. She heard it before he spoke it. "But I love her too," Silas said. "I won't lie to you. I don't know how to hold both. I'm not sure of myself right now." Vera's eyes filled. She did not shout. She nodded once, as if she had expected this. "I chose you tonight," she said. "I ended my marriage for you. And you came here unsure." She stepped back inside. "I can't wait while you decide who you are." The door closed. Silas stood among the sleeping swans. Inside, Vera pressed her back to the door and wept. Then she lifted her coat from the hook. She knew one man who had never once been unsure of her. She went to find Garret in his cottage.. upon finding him he knew something was wrong and asked her “what’s wrong Vera?” And she said “thank you for always choosing me first” and Garrett said “I love you Vera.. let me show you.. I told you I want a family.. think about it please.. i want to show you I chose you always”…