The smell of freshly ground coffee wafted across the hallway into the study. Leighton was standing in front of the large window pane, next to her desk, that stretched almost up to the ceiling. Tiny drops of rain were hitting against it and she watched as the water trailed down onto the pretty pink and white flowers in full bloom in the garden below. Her face lit up as Annamaria walked in with a pot of freshly brewed dark roasted delight. "The elixir of my life!” she declared and thanked her beloved housekeeper.
Annamaria watched bemused as Leighton gulped down her first cup of coffee and poured out another. "I'll bring in another pot in a few hours bella. I hope that’s good?" she asked hoping she would get an ‘okay’ from Leighton before she left the room. But Leighton was now at her desk lost in thought. The deep red mahogany desk, made from wood some thousand years old, sat in front of her like an enormous being frozen in time. Frozen, probably, with the melancholy of all those who dared to write against its back. Her head had been ringing all morning with a myriad of thoughts. Like they had gone wild at a crazed drunken party. She sipped on her drink and waited patiently as the caffeine cops broke it up. A blank new email stared back at her from the computer screen.
She wanted to have a conversation. It had been on her mind for too long and it had become ridiculously annoying. But it was not something just anyone would get. Not everyone can understand me, she reasoned. She needed to speak to someone who could and who would, she needed to speak to him. “But can I simply type out what I need to get off my chest and click send?” she wondered aloud in growing agony. After all, this was Nathan. "Why is my life complicated for no reason?"
The rain began to pour down a little heavier and as the clouds over-populated the sky, a gloom that matched Leighton's state of mind fell across the study. Paisley Roberts’ engagement party invite was lying next to the keyboard. She didn't want to look at it again but she did. Paisley was a high school acquaintance who hadn't quite existed in Leighton's world until a few months ago when she moved to the city. There had been a couple of reunion parties and now Leighton saw her at least three times a month which was three times more than she would have ideally liked. But Emily didn't seem to mind her at all and made it a point to include Paisley whenever they all got together and since Emily was practically Leighton's sister, that left her with no choice in the matter.
Paisley wasn't obnoxious condescending and diva-like nor was she an evil conniving sorceress; in fact she was quite the opposite. She was sweet, amiable and unassuming. She stood at 5 feet 3 inches, weighed around 135 pounds and had straight light brown hair up to her shoulders. She dressed plain, looked plain and well, was plain! Although Leighton believed that everyone is unique in their own way, she just couldn't figure out what exactly was un-average about her. Paisley lived her life by the book, followed all the norms and did exactly what the world expected of her and while Leighton agreed that such a feat was immensely commendable, it also bothered her greatly.
Why had Paisley become the bane of her existence? The quest to get to the bottom of her annoyance had to take an unwanted but much needed pause. First, she needed to find someone to pour her heart to, someone who could validate her view and knew where she was coming from. Emily? No chance. What about Ricky? She scrapped the idea almost as soon she began contemplating it. She was sure he would somehow manipulate lacy lingerie into the conversation and as amusing as that could be, she was in no mood for trivial flirtation this morning. She stared at the blank email one more time. If he were sitting on the couch in front of her this minute, reading the newspaper or doing whatever, it would be so easy! She would initiate the conversation and even if at first, he merely nodded without looking up once, she knew he was getting it and that by the time she was done sharing, he would have some wonderful insight that would put her at peace immediately. But he wasn't sitting on the couch reading the newspaper or doing whatever. He wasn't even in the same place as she was - emotionally and geographically.
She looked at the invitation card one more time. Paisley Roberts and Derek Shepherd. "They are definitely made for each other. Pretty much the same person", Leighton thought. She remembered the night Paisley had told them about Derek and how they had met while doing their weekly grocery shopping one Saturday morning. They had both wanted to buy the same grapefruit and while arguing over who had spotted it first, had fallen in love. Then they discovered that they lived in the same neighborhood, worked at the same company (different departments of course), each had a cat called Mr. Rusty when they were kids and sang the same songs in the shower. Their dating life lasted all of 5 weeks after which he proposed, she said yes and now they were all set to be officially engaged in a week and 'Mr. and Mrs. Derek Shepherd' in another 8. Paisley was about to embark on a lifelong journey of mediocrity with a fellow voyager, who also hailed from the 'Planet of the Nondescript" as Leighton described it. "Heavenly indeed!" she sighed. Just then a voice in her head with an uncanny resemblance to Emily's snapped at her, "Stop being so negative Ley, can't you just be happy for them?"
Her cell phone buzzed. A message from Emily:
“Are you still sleeping honey? I hope not! Get ready now, we're all meeting in 2 hours. Derek's coming too. See you then, xx (Be nice!)”
Leighton picked up the intercom phone and dialed. Annamaria picked up at the other end and assured her that her coffee would be ready and that she would help her do her hair once she was out of the shower. "Make it extra strong Anna, I'm gonna need it!". She left the study and ran upstairs to her room.
The rain had temporarily stopped but it had gotten darker outside. The study lay cold and empty, shrouded in silence. Annamaria entered with a cup of coffee and cookies. She put the tray down on the little table by the door and went toward the desk to switch off the computer. "She was in here for hours, she must have done lots of work,” she thought.
The blank email lay untouched on the screen; a testament to many a story not yet told, many a word not yet written.
Annamaria watched bemused as Leighton gulped down her first cup of coffee and poured out another. "I'll bring in another pot in a few hours bella. I hope that’s good?" she asked hoping she would get an ‘okay’ from Leighton before she left the room. But Leighton was now at her desk lost in thought. The deep red mahogany desk, made from wood some thousand years old, sat in front of her like an enormous being frozen in time. Frozen, probably, with the melancholy of all those who dared to write against its back. Her head had been ringing all morning with a myriad of thoughts. Like they had gone wild at a crazed drunken party. She sipped on her drink and waited patiently as the caffeine cops broke it up. A blank new email stared back at her from the computer screen.
She wanted to have a conversation. It had been on her mind for too long and it had become ridiculously annoying. But it was not something just anyone would get. Not everyone can understand me, she reasoned. She needed to speak to someone who could and who would, she needed to speak to him. “But can I simply type out what I need to get off my chest and click send?” she wondered aloud in growing agony. After all, this was Nathan. "Why is my life complicated for no reason?"
The rain began to pour down a little heavier and as the clouds over-populated the sky, a gloom that matched Leighton's state of mind fell across the study. Paisley Roberts’ engagement party invite was lying next to the keyboard. She didn't want to look at it again but she did. Paisley was a high school acquaintance who hadn't quite existed in Leighton's world until a few months ago when she moved to the city. There had been a couple of reunion parties and now Leighton saw her at least three times a month which was three times more than she would have ideally liked. But Emily didn't seem to mind her at all and made it a point to include Paisley whenever they all got together and since Emily was practically Leighton's sister, that left her with no choice in the matter.
Paisley wasn't obnoxious condescending and diva-like nor was she an evil conniving sorceress; in fact she was quite the opposite. She was sweet, amiable and unassuming. She stood at 5 feet 3 inches, weighed around 135 pounds and had straight light brown hair up to her shoulders. She dressed plain, looked plain and well, was plain! Although Leighton believed that everyone is unique in their own way, she just couldn't figure out what exactly was un-average about her. Paisley lived her life by the book, followed all the norms and did exactly what the world expected of her and while Leighton agreed that such a feat was immensely commendable, it also bothered her greatly.
Why had Paisley become the bane of her existence? The quest to get to the bottom of her annoyance had to take an unwanted but much needed pause. First, she needed to find someone to pour her heart to, someone who could validate her view and knew where she was coming from. Emily? No chance. What about Ricky? She scrapped the idea almost as soon she began contemplating it. She was sure he would somehow manipulate lacy lingerie into the conversation and as amusing as that could be, she was in no mood for trivial flirtation this morning. She stared at the blank email one more time. If he were sitting on the couch in front of her this minute, reading the newspaper or doing whatever, it would be so easy! She would initiate the conversation and even if at first, he merely nodded without looking up once, she knew he was getting it and that by the time she was done sharing, he would have some wonderful insight that would put her at peace immediately. But he wasn't sitting on the couch reading the newspaper or doing whatever. He wasn't even in the same place as she was - emotionally and geographically.
She looked at the invitation card one more time. Paisley Roberts and Derek Shepherd. "They are definitely made for each other. Pretty much the same person", Leighton thought. She remembered the night Paisley had told them about Derek and how they had met while doing their weekly grocery shopping one Saturday morning. They had both wanted to buy the same grapefruit and while arguing over who had spotted it first, had fallen in love. Then they discovered that they lived in the same neighborhood, worked at the same company (different departments of course), each had a cat called Mr. Rusty when they were kids and sang the same songs in the shower. Their dating life lasted all of 5 weeks after which he proposed, she said yes and now they were all set to be officially engaged in a week and 'Mr. and Mrs. Derek Shepherd' in another 8. Paisley was about to embark on a lifelong journey of mediocrity with a fellow voyager, who also hailed from the 'Planet of the Nondescript" as Leighton described it. "Heavenly indeed!" she sighed. Just then a voice in her head with an uncanny resemblance to Emily's snapped at her, "Stop being so negative Ley, can't you just be happy for them?"
Her cell phone buzzed. A message from Emily:
“Are you still sleeping honey? I hope not! Get ready now, we're all meeting in 2 hours. Derek's coming too. See you then, xx (Be nice!)”
Leighton picked up the intercom phone and dialed. Annamaria picked up at the other end and assured her that her coffee would be ready and that she would help her do her hair once she was out of the shower. "Make it extra strong Anna, I'm gonna need it!". She left the study and ran upstairs to her room.
The rain had temporarily stopped but it had gotten darker outside. The study lay cold and empty, shrouded in silence. Annamaria entered with a cup of coffee and cookies. She put the tray down on the little table by the door and went toward the desk to switch off the computer. "She was in here for hours, she must have done lots of work,” she thought.
The blank email lay untouched on the screen; a testament to many a story not yet told, many a word not yet written.
