Tacenda

Matt was thankful that A had some kind of music player. He plugged in his iPhone and scrolled down until he saw what he wanted, and pressed play, letting the music play in the background. Smiling contentedly, he checked the kitchen and glanced at his watch, guessing that A would be home in ten more minutes. And again he looked at the table, set up. Two plates, the utensils, the meal, a few other dishes, and then there was the unopened bottle of red wine.

The ginger ran a hand through his hair and picked up the bouquet of red roses that lay on his seat, observing that the flowers haven’t really wilted yet. He hoped it wouldn’t, or he’d have to replace them with new ones.

Everything was set up for them on that night. There was food, he had downloaded some of A’s favourite movies to watch later on, the bathroom now had new scented candles she lit whenever she had the urge to unwind, and the bedroom was just there if they needed it. Matt ran down the events in his head. Dinner. Bath. Movies. And then bed, perhaps, if she was tired and wanted to sleep. Frowning, Matt realized that there was a chance all of this wouldn’t push through if A was too tired to even function. So he made a backup plan in his head: bath. Dinner. Movies. Bed.

Sitting down, he looked at his watch again as the song changed. Six minutes to spare, unless she got stuck in traffic. She told him that morning that she’d to be let off early, and he hoped she was allowed to – the food, after all, tasted best when it was just cooked.

He had nothing better to do than to wait for her, and so he took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and fished one out, and then took his lighter out as well. Matt smoked under the exhaust, letting the smoke waft up instead of spreading everywhere. When finished, his hair was messed up and he smelled of smoke and nicotine that he knew A hated, he thought with a slight grimace on his face.

And with that, the door opened and the sound of boots clacking against the floor was heard. Matt smiled just a bit, grabbing for the bouquet and rushing to meet her in the living room, where he could hear her unzipping the shoes and sliding off her coat.

And there she was, in all her beauty. A rubbed her ankles and saw him waiting, and a smile crawled up to her face. Her green eyes took notice of the bouquet and she gave a small shake of the head, laughing quietly as well. It was so cliché, the flowers and the music, but she liked it that way. She liked it cliché, and found it adorable when he would do those things for her.

“I take it dinner’s ready?” she asked, graciously taking the flowers and smelling them. Matt chuckled, wrapping an arm around her and leading her to the kitchen, she keeping the flowers close and smelling the scent of him. He smelled like his cigarettes and the scent of the flowers were glued to him. It was an odd combination.

“It’s been ready for ten, fifteen minutes,” he answered, sitting her down and sitting across her, opening the bottle of wine and pouring a generous amount into her glass, and then into his. “Had to open your favourite, I hope you don’t mind,” he said next, glancing at her and wondering if this would irritate her in the slightest.

But it didn’t. She nodded, putting the flowers on a nearby counter and taking a sip from the wine glass. It left a small, faded mark that he recognized as lipstick that needed reapplying.

It was quiet for the next few moments, except for the tinkering of utensils while they ate. The silence made her nervous, and she glanced at Matt while he wasn’t looking, wondering what to say next. It was rare that there would be a lack of conversation between them, unless they were both busy and could only exchange a few words before rushing off to their own work.

But they weren’t busy, they were eating. They had the night to themselves and she didn’t want to spend it in silence as they watched her favourite movie, and then his. She didn’t want to shyly kiss him goodnight and fall asleep in bed, because they didn’t do that. Their way of loving wasn’t silent, it was loud and had to be heard by both parties. It was affectionate, the kind of love that had stolen kisses and random hugs, sudden hand-holding and him lifting her into the air just to hear her squeal and laugh, then demand to put her down.

Silence was awkward. It was there when the two had been in a fight and were too uneasy to approach each other, it was there when one had left and the other was alone in the house. The silence was unbearable, and as soon as silence came, they produced noise to block it out and love loudly as they did.

So where was the noise?

She finished her first glass of wine and refilled it.

The only thing playing was a song she faintly recognized.

And again, she glanced at him, only to see that he was looking at her as well.

She wanted him to speak, say something, bring up some noise that would disrupt the silence between them. The silence discouraged her, told her that something was wrong. She couldn’t take the lack of noise that she was accustomed to.

And for some reason, this irritated her.

Irritation made her finish her second glass of wine.

And he noticed.

If she wanted to be a little braver and break the silence, then perhaps a few glasses should do it, she decided in her head. And she met his gaze again, his thoughtful and a million miles away from Earth, most likely in outer space exploring some kind of new universe that revolved around a different sun.

And then he spoke.

“Come outside with me,” he asked her. And she blinked, nodding before standing up and reaching for his hand. His brows quirked at her reddening cheeks but he was more focused on something else. They went outside and he made her sit on the soft grass, both of them looking at the sky expectantly, as if waiting for fireworks and explode and illuminate the sky.

“…what are we waiting for?” and he merely smiled, telling her to wait because it would be coming in a few minutes. She pouted, impatient, but nodded anyway, willing to cope with the few more minutes of silence because soon, they’d be talking and then the universe would revert back into its natural state.

She was about to open her mouth once more to speak, but a gasp left her lips at the sight.

Stars were falling and they were like diamonds twinkling in the sky, crashing down somewhere, she figured. And she felt his hand wrap around hers, a whisper falling into her ears.

“Make a wish.”

And she did, watching the night sky glow as they held hands, laying back soon enough and letting the silence around them fall.

For once in her life, she found the silence beautiful.