Top of the Sky - Wasteland
They sit next to each other, the piece of paper between them on the table.
Maddi is now five months pregnant and the changes in her body can no longer be overlooked. She keeps stroking her belly, she can already feel the small movements of the child that is taking up more and more space in her life.
And soon Charles' life too.
“You got the job!” she suddenly shouts, her voice a little too loud for the small room, and shakes him. “You've got it!!!”
Charles stares at the letter, the news seems very unreal to him. “I... got the... Job?” he repeats quietly, his eyes squinting as he struggles to comprehend what he's reading. He never thought in his wildest dreams that he would get this job. The interview had been a complete disaster. He had found it so difficult to find the right words. He could barely open his mouth, so anxious that even his hands were sweaty.
Had his future boss noticed? Had he noticed the moment they shook hands?
“It starts tomorrow,” he then mumbles, his voice rough. “That's... quick.”
Maddi wraps her arms around his shoulders and pulls him close. Her warmth, the security that radiates from her, is almost physical.
She holds him tight - almost to say: everything will be fine. You're not alone. “That's good, Charlie,” she whispers, her lips gently touching his forehead. “Then you won't have time to be afraid of it or to overthink it.”
Charles looks at the paper still in his hands, but he doesn't really see it now. The words on it are almost irrelevant because he can feel Maddi's closeness, her firm arms around him, her calming breath that makes him feel like he's not lost.
He is silent, for a moment it seems as if the surrounding space is standing still. But then he turns to her and pulls her onto his lap. She settles, and her legs find themselves wrapped tightly around him.
“I love you,” he whispers. And although he has never been a man for big words, this is a truth that he can no longer hold back at this moment.
She rests her head on his shoulder and closes her eyes for a moment. “I love you too,” she murmurs.
And in this small space, between all the challenges, the uncertainties and the future they don't know yet, there is only this moment - the moment when they have each other. Where words are sometimes not enough, but the silence says it all.