“Just looking at that brings back memories. Do you remember how hot those slides used to be in the summer?”
I flinch at the memory. “I remember the monkey bars giving me blisters and coming home with hands full of splinters.”
Ella laughs. “Those were the good old days.” Silence sits between us.
I’m assuming we’re both caught up in memories of those times when the only thing you had on your mind was what you’d eat for dinner and how much time you’d get to play before the streetlights came on.
Grabbing her hand, I pulled her forward. “Come on.”
“What? Where are we going?”
Looking over my shoulder at her, I smile. “To play. When’s the last time you got on a swing?”
I continue to move us closer to the playground.
“Probably not since Cameron was a baby.”
We stop at the edge of the woodchips where the swing set is. I turn to face her without letting her hand go.
“Exactly,” I say. “Today is all about letting go. When you’re with me, I want you to be as carefree as you can be. No overthinking, no worries.”
She ducks her head. “Mitch, that isn’t—”
I cut off her words. “It is realistic. When you’re with me, you don’t have to think. I got you. Remember?”
The grin that lights up her face is so breathtaking, I can’t resist kissing her. I caught her off guard, so my lips came into contact with her teeth instead of her lips.
“Did you just kiss my teeth?”
“Yes. Now come on. Let’s see how high you can go on this swing.”
I pull her over to the swing set; only then do I let her hand go. El takes one swing, and I hop on the other. It’s been decades since I last got on a swing, but like riding a bike, you never forget the technique. We both kick our feet forward and back, gaining height with every swing. We get up so high, El squeals with joy. When I look over at her, there is a huge, joyous smile on her face. Her eyes are bright and free. She looks happy, which is all I want.
“Alright, let's jump.” I shout.
She swings her head over to me so fast with a look that screams, ‘Are you crazy?’. I laugh at her reaction.
She joins in my laughter. “You have lost your mind. I’m too damn old for that. Just my luck I’d land wrong and break my ankle.”
We both slow down the swings. Once we come to a stop, neither of us gets up. She stares in silence at the sinking sun, and I stare at her. Never in all my dreams did I think I’d be here with Ella.
“Why are you staring?” she asks without turning to me.
“How do you know I’m staring?”
She turns on the swing to face me. “Because I can feel your eyes on me.”
I continue to watch her for a minute longer before I answered. “Seeing you today, on this swing, made me realize I haven’t seen you at peace in a long time. Not since our college days. I didn’t realize how much I miss it.”
She cast her eyes down. The peace from earlier is replaced with sadness.
“Sometimes, I look back at my marriage and think how stupid I was. There were so many signs that I ignored. Hell, we weren’t even dating when we got married. The only reason he agreed is because I was pregnant with AJ.” She goes quiet after that statement. I allow her this moment of reflection. I can tell that she needs it.
“He asked me to abort the baby.”
I fight to keep my emotions off my face. However, it doesn’t stop the anger from boiling through my blood. When she turns to me, there are tears dancing in her eyes. The more she speaks of her past with Drew, the more I realize how much she suffered in silence.
She shakes her head and looks away. “When I told him I was pregnant, he asked me to get rid of the baby. I was so shocked by his words that I just stared at him, unable to speak. The most disturbing part is that for a moment I thought about it. Just because he asked, I thought of aborting my baby.” She shakes her head. “That’s how stupidly in love with him I was.”
