OOM: Portugal

[latino_menace]

The drive down yesterday had been quiet, but not awkward. They're rarely awkward with each other. The house, which Ramon hasn't seen in about forty years, is actually much as he remembers it - old, rambling, a little frayed around the edges. The front is reached by a long driveway edged by thick trees, the back opens up on to a beach. It's not a private one per say, but there are only five other houses in view along this back stretch and not many people in sight on the sand, despite the heat.

Things were unpacked and the evening had passed easily. Today, Ramon had gone for a long walk on his own, telling Random he needed some time. And now...now he's back and things are a little different. He doesn't want them to be but they are and he's terribly afraid that everything's about to be turned upside down.

But for the time being he just wants to relax, let this day wind down quietly. The midday heat is out in full force and he sighs with relief when he walks back over the cool flagstones of the kitchen, wondering idly where his lover is as he fills a glass of water.