As Natural as Breathing

As days progressed forward since our walk, Bea became more and more distant. Her eyes always had this glazed over look, like she was lost in her own little world.

On Thursday, I'd just about had enough. I wanted my girlfriend back; I wanted to hold her in my arms, hug her, kiss her, love her. So, I snuck into her room around 6AM, gently shaking her awake.

"MMMggghhh," she groaned, rolling away from me.

"Come on, Bea. Wake up, sunshine," I whispered in her ear.

Her hand reached up, landing on my face. She moved it around, before landing on my cheek, and then, she tapped my cheek a little harder than necessary.

"You asked for it," I growled, before grabbing her around the waist, and hoisted her out of bed, blankets and all. She wriggled in my arms, but I refused to let her go. After a moment, she opened her eyes, glaring at me.

"You suck," she pouted, her face scrunched up.

"And you're cute when you're mad, so I'm not complaining. Now come on, lets go watch the sunrise."

I set her on her feet, giving her a gentle nudge towards her closet, hinting that she should get dressed. Instead of heading towards her closet, she only wrapped her blankets more tightly around her. "If I'm going anywhere right now, I'm going like this. Take it or leave it. And we better not have to walk anywhere," she scowled.

"How could I deny that face?" I joked, tapping her nose with my finger. "Come on," I held out my hand, "Let's go. I promise we'll drive. And I'll give you a piggy-back ride the res of the way."

She slipped her hand out of her blankets, and slid it into my grasp. She hobbled after me down the stairs, and out to my car, where I opened the passenger side door for her.

It didn't take long to get to the place I was thinking of, but in that short amount of time, Bea had managed to fall asleep, again. Sighing to myself, I lifted her out of my car, and kicked the door closed. She shifted slightly, but remained asleep. Go figure.

There was a short trek uphill, but then, everything fell away, and the entire city of Dallas sat on the horizon. "Bea," I whispered in her ear. "Wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open, and I heard her audibly gasp at the view. "This is fantastic," she murmured. Pushing against my chest, she slid down so she was standing on her own two feet. "How did you find this place?"

"I've done a lot of thinking the past couple of months, and kinda just stumbled across this place while I was walking Elvis." I turned my head, my eyes found Bea's profile, as she stared off into the distance. "Was it worth it?" I asked, my voice low.

"Definitely," she said, returning my gaze. To my surprise she leaned up on her tip-toes, and pecked my lips. "This is really sweet."

"So are you," I answered, wincing at how corny it sounded. But she just giggled, and wrapped her arms around my torso, semi-circling me with her blanket. I pressed my face into her hair, and for the thousandth time inhaled her familiar scent.

If I could spend forever like this, I think I would be happy. My thought s surprised me. Forever; that was a long time. That was marriage. Goosebumps erupted across my exposed skin.

Bea pulled back, looking up at me. "Are you okay?" her words were so innocent, unaware of my heavy thoughts.

I just nodded, not trusting my voice.

At that moment, the sun peaked over the Dallas horizon, momentarily blinding me.

*********

Bea finally came out of her mood, and the rest of the house seemed happier just because of her. Once again, I noticed how much our lives revolved around hers. She had that effect on the world. If only she could see it, see how beautiful she really is.

Bea surprised me, by sitting with me while I was working on a song. She plucked quietly at a guitar, minding her own business. But she was still distracting in her own way. I thought up a million lyrics about her, but none about being angry at the world. I found it physically impossible to be angry at the world when Bea was sitting that close to me.

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Bea and I both lifted our heads, listening for any clue to who it could be. Both of us jumped when the basement door was wrenched open. Joe said softly, "Bea, it's for you."

She was up the stairs in a flash; I hadn't even seen her get up. I darted after her, wondering what the rush was.

When I careened around the corner, and saw who was in the foyer, my full body locked up. A man in a suit, cleanly-shaven, and carrying a suitcase stood with perfect posture. Bea shrunk back slightly, cringing away. There wasn't a doubt in my mind; he had to be a social worker.

"I'm David Baer," he said, extending his hand. "I figured since you refuse to talk to me on the phone, I had to come in person."

Bea shrunk away from him, looking at his hand like it might bite. My parents walked in, both of them puzzled. "What's going on?"

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Jonas, I presume. As I just said, I am David Baer, and I'm here on the business of the removal of Tyler Kealy from this household."

Everyone froze, and silent horror filler the room.