I am in love with my EX-WIFE Ch5 pg 14 - Page 2

"Can we talk?" he sighed against his open fist.

"No", she dismissed him with one word. One word and he was out of words... Every rehearsed pleading, blank and forgotten.

"Do you still like vanilla beans?" she asked as if it had not been a month but centuries since they last met.

Her loud steps made music on the mahogany floors. He followed the path of her kitten heels down to the artisan's kitchen and it was still home. The ever present smell of coffee with a hint of cinnamon floured the air in its sparkling dust.

From behind the crystals of spice and shimmering light, she looked nothing short of an angel godsent. Like a claim to the throne, his arms inevitably engulfed her chiseled frame within them. His lips hovering over her ear, he whiffed away her curls to a side and spoke, "be still. Let me have this minute".

Her eyes closed like a forgotten instinct coming back to her. She breathed one last breath before it was held at his account. He turned her around with no effort. Her shy eyes facing his, she struggled to regain her senses.

Thankfully, the cooing of the kettle on boil distracted their dancing mystique. With much care, she added a dash of whole milk to the fresh Columbian brew that suited his foreign tastes. The scene of cracked vanilla pods reminded him of her. Even after they had separated, the two aromas were forever married- Madhu and vanilla, vanilla and Madhu. She wiped clean the dark stains of the seeds on her apron. He watched her hands moved skillfully, up and down, drawing hills and valleys on the perfectly formed foam.

Like a mother whose hunger is satiated watching her child eat, she yearned for him to be the man sitting at her kitchen table, devouring every new recipe she cooked up. Though he was no longer her lover, or barely ever deserved her nurturing ways, she couldn't help the smile that popped at the corners of her mouth when he criss-crossed his hands over the warm mug.

"Mmm", he nodded tapering all the foam off the china in one swig. "You've still got it". He gave her a genuine smile, one that was a rarity in their home.

As the sips of liquid turned from scorching hot to bearable, she began a gentle attempt at prying for information. "What brings you here?" she asked with eyes half hidden by the rim of her mug.

"You", was all he said before going back to enjoying his beverage. As he stole short glances at her, he noticed the things he'd missed with her away. Like always, her deep maroon lipstick had bled a bit but nothing too haunting on the eye. Like the old times, he still had the constant urge to fix it for her. After a gesture or two of fruitless trying, he realized he no longer held the right to correct her appearance. If it wasn't for the violent swaying of the leaves outside, he would wonder if their comfortable silence hung too long. Nevertheless, he inquired the reason for no interruptions in the usually busy facility. She replied in a simple truth. Most of her customer base was out of town on a week-long excursion. So she only opened up shop to greet the occasional tourist that the unwelcoming season brought with it.

"How have you been?" her eyes had been wandering around his torso, down to his legs, and back up to his chest, as if checking the state of returned cargo. It took all her strength not to rip up his designer suit and investigate for herself.

"I am okay. It's only been a month, you know", he smiled looking down at his chest as if he could sense her concern.

"Yes, only a month...yet here you are".

This last remark, he did not see coming. His queen, as jokingly referred to her, might know her coffee but her kiss was never bitter. Yet today a hint of dark brew cut sharply through her sweet vanilla. This unfamiliar taste of hers reminded him of their broken past.

"Here I am, my dear. Right back where I belong", he slipped his chair right next to hers, elbows touching, hearts smiling, but wondrous eyes widening the cracks.

"Used to belong Rish. I gave up ownership a month ago, willingly might I add", she almost didn't want to hear the next words out of his mouth.

"And I am here to return it you. Take it, I am yours".