Free Runaway Love by Nicole W. Lee Page A

marital relationship of eight years was not easily put aside.  Both he and Domino had taken it badly, plummeting both into a deep pit of despair. 
    It had been a hard climb out.  
    At first - he recognized with hindsight - he had hidden behind a wall of denial.   But Domino, unable to achieve such a feat, mourned Anna's absence openly.  Lorenzo witnessed it every day.  There were times when he couldn't bring himself to look his dog in the eye.
    But, in the end, Domino won.  His open sadness broke down Lorenzo's wall of denial and gave him the strength to work through the grief that he bottled up for so long.  Ultimately, he and Domino overcame it together.
    Then Genie exploded into their lives. 
    She aroused feelings in him that he didn't want to have - feelings that dragged him into a dark world of guilt.  This was a place where he fought hard to stay - for Anna.  But, almost against his will, his attraction for Genie continued to grow each day, increasingly illuminating that dark world.
    Slowly dulling the sharp edge of guilt.
    It shamed him.  Anna deserved more of him.  He had to contain any feeling for this new girl.  To allow them free rein would be a betrayal - both to Anna and to Genie. 
    In any event, there could be no future with Genie.  She made it very clear that she intended to leave as soon as the pass cleared.
    He must exercise all his willpower to keep his needs unrequited or the road back to solitude for him and Domino, after Genie, would be a bitter pill he'd rather they did not have to swallow.  He had no desire to go through that again.  Better to keep Genie at a distance.  A Friend.  Nothing more.  Then, maybe life after Genie would be easier to bear.
    Maybe. 
    In the meantime, she was here now.  He would enjoy the experience of her as much as he could in the few weeks that remained.   The only way to live with Genie was day by day - moment by moment. 
    Nevertheless, the past and the future were always there, hovering in the background - the pain of the past and the fear of the future.
    “We were out there a long time today,” Genie said.
    “Vero.  But, working on the farm becomes you.”
    “Becomes me?” She emitted a brief laugh.   “If my parents could see me now, they'd both have heart attacks, right on the spot.”
    “Why?”
    She ran a fast movie of her privileged life through her mind.  “I'm embarrassed to tell you, Lorenzo.” 
    He wondered if this was a euphemism for, “it's none of your business”.  It certainly bore testing a little.  “You...embarrassed,” he said.  “I don't believe it.”
    “I can be a champion embarrass-er when it calls for it.”
    “Really?  This is a side of you I've never seen.”
    “I'll warn you when it's about to happen.”  She sat back in the recliner and stretched her bare feet towards the fire.  “Ah, that's better.”
    Lorenzo recognized he had just received a clear signal that Genie was not going to offer up any additional information.  He capitulated and lounged against the back of the sofa. 
    She really was at home here - and with him.  She looked as if she was at home here. 
    A new thought struggled to surface, bringing with it a familiar guilt-bound tightening in his chest.  He quickly averted his gaze from Genie and sought to redemption in the flames.  It must not be.  Anna...  Even the thought of Anna did not stem the realization.  Even the weight of guilt pressing down hard could not banish the new thought.
    He wanted Genie to be at home here.
     
    Genie's peripheral vision caught Lorenzo turning from the fire and looking at her again.  He'd been studying her on and off all evening.  That's alright.  As long as he stayed at his end of the couch, he could study her much as he wanted.
    However, studying was one thing; this accompanying silence was something else.  It was fast becoming too much for Genie to bear.   She searched for something to say - some way of breaking the silence.
    The