Étienne and Serene

1920

Charleston, South Carolina

Serene

" I draw the line at a pig."

Leaning back in my chair, I cross my arms over my swollen stomach and look across the desk at Etienne. "Your daughter has two cats, a dog, and a horse she's not even old enough to ride. Did the line ever exist?"

Etienne lifts his gaze from the paperwork in front of him. He arches a single brow, but his stoic gaze betrays nothing. "Startin' now it does."

Absently, I rub my palm across my stomach. With every pregnancy I tell Etienne he needs to slow down and not take on so much at work. And every time, he always promises he will, but I swear he gets busier every year. The amount of paperwork on his desk would overwhelm me, but for him, he knows who it belongs to and what needs to happen.

At this point, I've accepted that Etienne can never stay idle. For him, he flourishes when he stays busy.

I watch Etienne finish signing a document before I delve back into our conversation. "You know how badly Alex wants a pig."

Etienne drops his pen onto the desk. He takes his glasses off and rubs his temples. Linking his fingers behind his head, he leans back in his chair and looks at me. "Alex loves any animal she encounters. Just yesterday I had to stop her from trying to make a squirrel her new domesticated friend. When I let the squirrel go, I swear he had a look of relief."

At that, a burst of laughter escapes me. "She gave me a thorough presentation on why she would be a studious pig owner." I round my last two words with air quotes.

"I gave me the same presentation yesterday." Etienne stares at his desk thoughtfully with a satisfied smile. "I must say I was highly impressed by the submission of her proposal."

Now it was my turn to shake my head. Alex is her father's daughter through and through. Her attention to detail, quiet stubbornness, and insatiable thirst for knowledge is evident in everything in everything she does.

And that's never been more apparent than her desire for a damn pig.

"She's not going to stop, you know," I say gently.

"I know, I know," Etienne sighs, sits up straight in his chair, and grabs his glasses, ready to get back to work. I will die on the hill that glasses make any attractive. But on Etienne it transforms his rugged face and sets it apart as distinguished. Doesn't matter how many times I see Etienne in his wire rimmed glasses my heart still skips beat and I must fight the urge to crawl across the desk and straddle him.

"Serene, did you hear me?"

I blink my husband into focus and see him staring at me expectantly. Heart racing, I give him a smile that I'm certain is slightly dazed. "Sorry. I didn't hear you."

Lifting a thick brow, Etienne repeats himself. "I said I think it's best to wait until Alex gives her second presentation on bein' an effective and responsible pig owner before we make our final decision."

The corner of my mouth lifts. Etienne says we're going to wait as though he hasn't softened to the idea. When it comes to Alex, he's putty. While Etienne can be forthright and brusque, that can come across as unrefined to some people. However, when it comes to his kids, there's nothing he wouldn't do for them, especially his little girl.

"I look forward to any adjustments and additions to her next presentations," I say with a smile. Drumming my fingers on my thighs, I sigh. I've been away from the kids for awhile now, and even though they're with the nanny, I still like to check on them.

"I'll let you get back to work," I say to Etienne.

He nods, barely lifting his head from the contract in front of him.

Gripping the edges of the armrest, I attempt to stand up. It takes me several tries before I give up and clear my throat. Etienne lifts his head and looks at me blankly, clearly still stuck in the business headspace. Several seconds pass before he jumps up and hurries around the desk to help me stand.

Between us, my stomach easily pushes against his. The corner of Etienne's mouth tilts up, as he looks down at me. I shake my head; I can see the direction of his thoughts. If Etienne had it his way, Belgrave would be filled with kids. And the way we're going, we're well on the way to fulfilling his desire.

"This will be the last one."

"We said that after Trace," Etienne reminds me as a strong arm curls around my shoulders.

"I mean it this time," I insist rather weakly.

All too willing my arms wrap around his waist. With his body pressed against mine, the insistence of having no more kids no longer becomes important. I tilt my head back and our lips meet in a kiss that's both gentle and passionate, a perfect blend of the shared history and the hope of our future before us. In this kiss, I feel the world melt away, leaving only the two of us in our perfect, timeless embrace. My fingers curl around the material of his shirt as I open my mouth.

Etienne groans and the hand around my shoulders glides up to the side of my face and is accompanied by his other hand. He angles my face and deepens the kiss. His tongue sweeps into my mouth in slow and unhurried strokes, until I have no choice but to do the same.

The kiss grew more frenzied, more urgent, as though we were trying to convey every unsaid word and hidden emotion through our hands and lips. The soft tick of the clock on the fireplace mantel and the wind whispering through the trees outside became a distant background, replaced by the symphony of our breathless exchanges.

That first kiss spark catches as quickly as it did the moment our lips met. If anything, there's confidence that runs right beside our attraction. Etienne knows how to drive me wild and the same can be said for me.

I'll never get enough of the man that time gave to me.

But it's always in the back of my mind that I can slip back to the present day. It's happened before and who's to say it won't again?

The years that tick by in this era don't alleviate my anxiety. Instead, I grow more terrified; I've cultivated friendships within Charleston, I've become comfortable within this time, and most importantly Etienne and I have an ever-growing family.

Tighter, I grip the back of Etienne's shirt until my nails nearly puncture the material. I breathe through my nose as I suck on his tongue. The action elicits another groan from him as I knew it would. I sink into the kiss, trying to push away my intrusive thoughts. But all I can think about is what if time cruelly ripped me from my family?

It doesn't matter how tightly I hold onto Etienne, or how close I press myself against him, the thought demands an answer. The best I can give is that I would never stop trying to find my way back to them.

I may have been born in a different time, but it didn't matter. My heart belonged to Etienne and my soul can only survive here, in the past.

As though he can sense my distraction, Etienne pulls his back. Gently, he tilts my chin, causing my head to lean all the way back to meet his gaze. "What are you thinkin' about?"

"You and the kids."

As Etienne carefully stares at me, his thumb brushes against my lower lip. "What else?" he prods.

I held his gaze for several seconds. When emotions clog my throat, I turn my eyes to the bookshelves behind him. "I was thinking about the life we've created, and how much I love you and the kids." I swallow before I continue, "If time ever took me away again-"

My words are cut off by Etienne tightly clasping my face between his hands. "You can't say that," he whispers fiercely. "You can't speak those words into existence."

In his eyes, I find comfort and security. Already I can feel my anxiety diminishing. I close my eyes for a brief second and exhale a breath I don't even know I'm holding. "You're right," I say.

The love that Etienne and I share will always be special. We're part of a small club that no one can have access or entry to. With him, I'm safe to share my thoughts on the ‘what ifs' and my life in the present. With him, he understands because no one else would. It's not as though I can go around telling people that I've time traveled. I would be committed to the nearest asylum before I could finish my sentence. I've learned that when the truth stands against logic, people have a difficult time accepting what you have to say. And that's okay.

"Do you think somethin' is goin' to happen?" Etienne's brows crease as he searches my face. "Do you feel as though you're…" he swallows before he continues, "you're goin' to leave?"

Immediately, I shake my head. "No, no. I don't. It's just my fear. I just can't be without you."

Etienne is nodding, before I can finish my words. His eyes that can appear so cold and shrewd, turn almost soft and understanding, because he grasps the weight of my words.

Several seconds pass as Etienne considers his words. "You can't allow fear to take hold of you. We can't allow fear to control us. Imagine if we did. Our entire relationship would be dictated by that basic human emotion. It would hold so much power over lives and I refuse to let that happen."

I nod, willing him to continue.

"Are there moments when we're goin' to feel more uneasy than other couples? Perhaps. But we've been through somethin' that most people can ever comprehend. We with stood time when it should have torn us apart. We can withstand anythin', Serene. Anythin'. I love you and no matter what, we always find our way back to one another."

"Always," I whisper.

Love always leaves a trace. There's no disputing that. But soul shattering can withstand anything. It survives the moments in life that aren't always picture perfect, the arguments that leave both parties ready to retreat to opposite sides of the room. It survives devastating loss, betrayal, and even time.

You can survive it all because you have the one that belongs beside you.

You have your surviving trace.