Sun Crossed Lovers

“Hey stranger,” James gently shuts the door behind him then strides over to his wife to give her a sweet good morning kiss. The dawn's early light illuminated their tiny apartment and gave Lorna a morning glow. James' heart panged at the sight.

Lorna blushed, as she always did. “Hey, how was work?”

About a month back, James started a new job working at the loading docks, unloading trucks throughout the night. “Oh you know, the usual. Tom was telling me this hilarious story, you gotta hear it-”

Lorna placed her hands on Jame’s chest. “I’m so sorry, but I’m actually running late for work. But you gotta tell me this story later, okay? I’m sorry. I’ll see you later. Bye husband.”

James gave a small smile. “Bye wife.”

Lorna leaned against the door of her apartment after entering, exhausted. She loathed the rush hour traffic she always hit on her way home and looked forward to decompressing with some dinner. 

She caught sight of James bustling inside their bedroom and sighed. His job took place during the night while her office job kept her occupied during the day. She disliked this new schedule, she hardly got to see or talk to James.

James pulled on his work vest and baggy pants, the neon glowing bright as the sun set through their bedroom window. He had spent his day sleeping, the docks taking a lot of energy out of him and leaving him exhausted by the time he got home. He checked the time and started a brisk pace to the door when he caught Lorna sipping a glass of wine in their kitchen.

“Hey stranger.” Lorna swirled her wine in her glass and smiled at him. Her eyes seemed dull and tired. James went up to her for a kiss and sighed. “Let me guess, you have to go.”

He nodded. “You know I love ya, doll. Get some rest, I’ll see you later?”

James left the apartment and Lorna swirled her wine again, feeling lonely in her

empty apartment.

A bottle of wine later, and Lorna lazed on her couch, watching some show that was on but not really paying attention. Instead, she mused about her past with James. They were both young and in love, absolutely head over heels with each other. He would show up at her parent’s door with flowers every morning until she finally agreed to go on a date with him. She planned extra romantic dates for them; trips to her parents cabin in the woods, picnics, aquarium dates, snow dates, movie marathons. He became her best friend and she misses him now, especially now. She missed waking up with him. She missed spending the day in his arms or having an experience with him and locking eyes in mutual wonderment. She missed falling asleep to his gentle snoring and missed watching his face change as he dreams.

James unlocked the door at dawn, at his usual time, and took a deep breath. The docks were extra hard today with new shipments to be unloaded. His muscles ached and all he needed was to pass out in bed. He spotted Lorna on the couch, the tv still blaring, and chuckled. He silently cleaned up the spilled wine, turned off the TV, and gently shook Lorna awake. “Hey doll, you gotta get to work soon.”

Lorna, still half asleep, reached out for his hand and cradled her face with it. James’s heart beat, as it always did when they touched. “I can just stay home. Let's nap together like we used to.”

James smiled, and sadly shook his head. “I wish we could doll, but your boss will kill you if you don’t show up. And I like my wife alive and happy.”

“I’m not happy without you.”

They locked eyes. The dull glaze over Lorna’s eyes disappeared, instead shimmering and glossing over with tears threatening to spill over. James inhaled deeply, his heart hurting for her, for them. He missed Lorna, missed her messy hair in the morning sticking up everywhere, missed teasing her about her cooking and going back for seconds. He missed feeling together with her. No matter what had happened to them, they were always together, throughout miscarriages, wedding anniversaries, friend’s funerals. James pictured his future, and Lorna’s eyes were all he could see. 

“I miss you, James. I’m not sure how much longer I can go without you.”

“I know Lorna. And believe me, I’m missing you a lot too. Like hell. But these are the moments we have right now, and right now, we’ll make it work. Like we always do. Tell you what,” James continued, “I will take off work next week so we can spend the night together. Okay?”

“Okay.” Lorna beamed up at him, and bounced off the couch to give him a sweet kiss. She bounded off to the bedroom to prepare for her day while James laughed at her. He followed her, stripped himself off his work uniform, pulled on pajamas and crawled into bed.

Lorna happily got ready for work, her mind buzzing with the thought of spending a night with James. She would cook them dinner, they'd take a walk outside and just talk, they'd come back home and watch some TV in each other’s arms. She could hardly wait.

The day arrived and Lorna nearly sped through the rush hour traffic to come

              home. She stopped by the grocery store for groceries and a bottle of wine for them to have with dinner and practically floated up the stairs to their apartment. 

She entered and was slightly disappointed she didn’t see James bustling about their apartment. Lorna placed her wine and ingredients on the table and wandered about the apartment looking for him. She finally found him in their bed, sound asleep. She leaned against the doorway and just watched his chest rise up and down. He must’ve been exhausted recently from all the work he’s been doing. Lorna didn’t have the heart to wake him up, and gently shut the door behind her. She went back to the kitchen, put everything away, and subjected herself to an easy microwave meal. 

After eating and relaxing from her day of work, Lorna softly opened the door and curled up next to James in bed. His arm instinctively wrapped around her and Lorna felt as if she was free to breathe again. She scooted closer to him for warmth and lulled herself to sleep by matching his breathing.

James awoke to Lorna’s alarm and shot up. Lorna lay next to him, grumbling about the alarm, and James realized that he had slept through his day off. His heart dropped. He missed his chance to have an evening spent with his wife, and now they were back to their regular opposite schedules. 

He brushed her hair back with his hand and sighed in disappointment. “I’m sorry doll, I didn’t mean to fall asleep on ya. I’ll make it up to you.”

Lorna reached up and grabbed his hand and just held it. “It’s okay, love. Sleeping near you is enough for right now. But I do have to get up for work now.”

James laid back down. “You can wait 5 more minutes with me.”

Lorna didn’t argue and they laid there, content with just each other. Lorna’s second alarm went off, and both reluctantly let go with a sigh.

As Lorna readied herself for work, James sat back in bed, watching her. His job was taxing, both physically and mentally, but it helped tremendously when it came to bills. He felt fully refreshed after sleeping the entire day yesterday, and was determined to do something productive while his wife was at work.

Lorna left with a goodbye kiss, and James was left to his own devices. He picked up the newspaper, cleaned the house, and did some grocery shopping. As he was walking his way home, James stopped and turned around to confirm what he saw: a Help Wanted sign. He briefly scanned the sign for the details of the job; a truck driver position from dawn to late afternoon. Perfect. 

James ran home to call the number on the sign, and after a brief conversation, set up an interview for himself for the following day. As he suited up for work at the docks, Lorna came in, looking exhausted with the same dull glaze over her eyes. They sparked up, however, as soon as she spotted James. “Hey, stranger.”

James grinned. “Hey wife. Guess what I did today. I just submitted-”

“I’m so sorry, dear, but I’m just so tired. Can you tell me in the morning? I think I’m just going to lie here and….” Lorna had sat down on the couch, leaned her head back and promptly fell to sleep. James came over, scooped her up in his arms and carried her to their bed. He tucked her in, and left her with a kiss on her forehead.

The day of his interview, James made himself wake up after a few hours of sleeping after his shift. He got in his best suit, combed through his hair, and stood in front of the mirror to give himself the usual pre-interview pep talk. 

“Alright James, old boy. You’re going to go in there, nail this interview, be a truck driver, and come home in time to see your wife.” He straightened his tie and nodded at his reflection. He looked sharp.

Lorna arrived home to an empty house and groaned. Not only was she not seeing James enough, she couldn’t even catch him in passing anymore. Overwhelmed with emotion, she slunk down to the floor and let the tears spill out of her eyes. She wouldn’t be able to see or touch her husband anymore. Their schedules never aligned up. She missed him tremendously and it hurt to not see him everyday. She choked on her sob. It all seemed hopeless.

“Oh wife! Have I got news for you!”

Lorna perked her head up towards the door, and brushed herself off. She wiped the tears off her face and rose to greet her husband, who looked sharp in his suit. “Oh James! What’s with the suit?”

“That, my dear, is because I just got a new job. My hours are during the daytime now, just like yours. It doesn’t pay as much but we’ll be okay. I just need you.”

Lorna’s eyes widened. “R-really? So I can come home to you and we can eat dinner together?” 

James laughed. “Yes doll. We’ll be together again.”

Lorna ran to him, arms wide open. James caught her and spun her around in a hug. They were going to be together again.