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Waiting Through the Lights

Author: Lunar Dawn
last update Last Updated: 2025-04-20 03:37:46
Owen pushed the ignition button to start the Yukon and backed out of his parking space. The engine was so quiet that you couldn’t even really hear it. As we circled the lot to get in line, I tried not to let my lingering bad thoughts ruin this time we had together.

“Wanna play twenty questions?” Owen asked as he looked over at me with a smile.

“Yes or no questions or open ended?”

“Open ended, of course.”

“Sure. Best way to get to know one another. If something is too much or too personal, we just say ‘next’ for now.”

“Got it. How old is your little brother?” He asked me.

The wait to get on the road would not be a short one so we would have some time to talk. Each time the light changed, it let fifteen to twenty cars out before cycling back to the traffic on the main stretch of road. I wasn’t worried about getting there on time but as I looked off in the distance, back toward home, I could see what looked like storm clouds rolling in.

“He’s four. He just started preschool. He won’t turn
Lunar Dawn

Do you think Owen is right about Phil's motives or is it just that Owen is a little jealous, too?

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  • Whispers of the Heart   Meeting Nate

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  • Whispers of the Heart   His Quiet Rage

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  • Whispers of the Heart   Dinner Distractions

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  • Whispers of the Heart   Big Surprise

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Latest chapter

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  • Whispers of the Heart   Big Surprise

    He grinned as he answered with a wink. “Neither am I. Don’t get me wrong. I plan to go to college but my dreams are different than theirs. I want a good steady job that allows me to have more time with my family. I want several kids and the house with the big back yard. Barbecues on the weekends. Coaching my sons teams along the way.”I couldn’t help but smile wider as he talked about it. At least it sounded like he had his plans and that they could possibly include me down the road. I wasn’t so naive to think that Owen being the first crush I had ever had that he would be my happily ever after but it does happen. At least, I would stop stressing so much about our social differences. It sounded like the life he had lived would have been very lonely if it hadn’t been for his Nonna. I felt it was her raising him that shaped how he feels about family and having one.“Aurora, my parents have high expectations of me. I do my best to try to honor them but I decided last year that I could onl

  • Whispers of the Heart   Focused

    “I’m being careful. If he wants to play games, I can play. I do agree, though. I’m glad he is showing me this side of him now.”“So, you told me how you ended up with Phil in the first place but I didn’t think until afterwards to ask you where your dad is?” He must have saw me cringe because he quickly followed up with, “You don’t have to answer that. I was just wondering.”“No, it’s okay. It is bound to come up at some point so I might as well tell you everything. Then, you can decide right now if you want to run for the hills.”“Aurora, I will not run.”“Yeah, we’ll see.”I opened up and told him everything. From not knowing who my dad was to what led to my mother’s death and the call to Phil in the first place. Owen just listened, asking a question here and there but I never saw any judgment or looks of disgust on his face.“So, that’s me. Ready to run now?”He gave me a smile but this one was more subdued. The kind of smile you give to someone when you feel sorry for them.“No, I’m

  • Whispers of the Heart   A Hint of Color

    “Sit back down! I am not finished talking to you!”My teeth rattled from the sudden impact of my butt being slammed onto the chair as Phil grabbed my arm and yanked me down. It took a few seconds for my brain to catch up to what happened but when it did, all thoughts of being diplomatic flew out the window as I jerked my arm away, shooting daggers at him. He hadn’t hurt me but the audacity would not be ignored.“What is your damn problem, Phil!? I was getting a bottle of water!”He slammed his hand down on the table and pointed his finger at me. “Don’t cuss me, Aurora! You will respect me in my own house!”“News flash! Respect is earned and right now, I am having a hard time respecting you! What is going on right now? You’re blowing up at me and I don’t have the first idea why?”“Why? You wanna know why? Maybe because the woman I am wanting is letting strange men bring her home!”“That wasn’t a strange man, Phil! That was a classmate.”“That wasn’t just a classmate, Aurora. That was O

  • Whispers of the Heart   Evening Routine

    I ran the water for Nate’s bath while he picked out the toys he wanted tonight, dropping them one by one in the water. I smiled as I looked around at all of the drawings on the ceramic surface of the tub and the tiled walls.I had bought him bath crayons and bath paints that he loved to use. He would use them to draw and play while I scrubbed his hair. I usually snapped a picture of his ‘gallery’ each week before I cleaned the tub and erased the surface, ready as his next canvas. Tonight, he was sinking boats, though. He blasted each ship with cannons, making the blast and shot sounds as dramatically as he could muster until all of his boats were ‘sunk’.I made him lean his head back to rinse the shampoo out of his hair. Once I had it rinsed out, I wiped his face with the washcloth I had just given him to keep the extra water out of his eyes. He handed it back to me and I dunked it in the water and added body wash and lathered it up and handed it to him as I helped him stand up. He qui

  • Whispers of the Heart   Dinner Distractions

    “Nate has that blank wall in his bedroom. What if we get one of those cork boards to hang up in there. I can hang his art work and schoolwork on it, create like a display that I change every couple weeks or something. What do you think about that?”“If that’s what you want.”“Yeah, it is. I would like that and I think he would, too. Can we get one ordered or possibly stop by the office supply store and see how much one would cost.”“We will stop and get one maybe sometime this weekend.”I clapped my hands together, playing up the excitement and my gratitude. “Thank you! What can I help you with?”“You have that package of ground beef in there. I didn’t know if you were planning tacos, burgers or what but I figured baked potatoes would go with either.”“I had planned taco salads so the baked potatoes will work well. That way we can use the cheese and sour cream for both.”As Phil left the sink area with the potatoes to prep them for the microwave, I stepped in and washed my hands. I ope

  • Whispers of the Heart   His Quiet Rage

    I wanted to look back, wave, something as Owen pulled out of the driveway and drove away but I didn’t dare. There was a dangerous, quiet rage radiating off of Phil. One I had never even knew he could possess. Until I could have that very important conversation with Phil, I had to be careful how I played this. With him coming home early, seemingly for no other reason than to see who I was with, this just went from playing a game of checkers to a game of chess.Phil knew my weakness. The little boy that he was currently hugging to his side. I remember asking him what happened if I didn’t want to start a relationship with him and he’d said that we would worry about that when and if the time came. When he said it, it never bothered me because I was still willing to give the feelings a chance to blossom and grow. Now, it worried me. The anxiety of the unknown and the differences I had now seen in Phil over the last day being the deciding factors.As I locked eyes with Phil, I planted the b

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