It was time.

She was on her period.

Good God please take mercy on me and make me say the right things.

It had been a ruthlessly hot August day, making her all the more cranky.

Felicity, she was beautiful, and she was strange.

She'd rather eat a small bag of pistachios in a book store than shop for clothes.
(Which, isn't a problem, it's just not very often that I find a girl who loathes shopping day. Maybe, no, no. I won't dive into that.)

Felicity's glasses were always on the end of her nose, she said she felt stupid always pushing them up.

Her hair would usually be up in a messy bun, not the "fashionable" messy bun, but the realistic kind, the kind that flopped around with little whispies sticking out everywhere.

She was soft. Her skin has always been pale and her cheeks had that delightful roundness when she smiled.

I loved it.

Her favorite place to be was anywhere a book was.

I built her a little nook in the attic, right below the large circle window. The light that would illuminate the dusty air was always warm and slow.

I remember how her eyes light up so bright every time she sees it. Her amazement is never truly satisfied.

I love every piece of Felicity...even period Felicity.

But let me tell you, PMS gives that little lady some fangs.

I stood in the grocery line, waiting for my cashier to ring up the amount of money I needed to pay.

~ Brookside Chocolates: Acai & Blueberry

~ Mama's Cupcakes: Triple Chocolate

~ DiGiorno Pizza: Meat Lover's

~ Tampax: Assorted Strengths

~ Heated Blanket

Total: $55

I would say that I drain my pocket every month for some essential items.

But I still had one more stop.

~

Outside, the colors in the air quieted from their hot summer hues, overcast inched in over the city.

~

I stood in front of "García's Books N' Coffee".

I could smell the strong coffee from the sidewalk, I hated it.

What can I say? I'm a tea man.

Opening the wooden door, my senses became overwhelmed.

Almost gagging, my nose began burning from the powerful scent of burnt coffee. I nodded towards the old smiling woman behind the counter.

Still wincing from the potent smell, I took some crickety wooden stairs by two at a time.

I approached the doorframe leading into an upstairs room. The smell up here was a little easier on the senses, it was more of a vanilla smell...but not vanilla...do you know what I mean?

I entered the room and closed the door behind me.

I glanced over the quaint room and the shelves of books.

I could see dust specks drifting around in the hazy light from the window, and the boards creaked beneath my feet as I took a stroll through my girlfriend's world.

It was almost melancholy up here, very quiet.

Very...calm.

I ran my fingers across the old book cases, feeling the paper scrape lightly across my skin.

Now I understood why Felicity came here, it was forlorn yet peaceful, it was mysteriously beautiful...like her own self.

I pulled a book up off a shelf near the back,"Treasures Of The Snow" by Patricia St. John.

It was a Switzerland story, I've heard Felicity going on and on about how she wanted to travel to Switzerland.

I smiled, and bought it from the worker dowstairs.

~

As I drove home, little pitter patters began tapping on my windshield.

~

I unlocked the door to our apartment, peeking in to see if Felicity was awake.

She had opened the window to let in the cool air, and was wrapped in her blanket cocoon near the living room window. No doubt lullabied to sleep from the first rain of the month.

She was wearing a fuzzy gray sweater my mother bought me for Christmas.

The honey blonde hair descending down her shoulders surprised me, it was soft and wild.

I left her treats and book out on the coffee table, and popped the pizza in the oven for when she woke up.

I loved her. I loved everything about her, her awkwardness, her weird obsession with old bookshops...everything.

I wrapped my fingers around the small ring in my pocket and smiled so happily I felt my body tingle mercilessly. My body warmed up so quickly that I stood in the kitchen with a blush on my cheeks.

~

Meanwhile, the gray rain continued its steady march against the earth, oblivious to the young love.