4. Not Your Typical Love Song

(This is a continuation of my previous post)

“Let’s play a game of two halves.”

Glasgow Girl eyed the flight of test tube shots.  “Is that a drinking game?” she asked.

Graffiti Guy chuckled.  “Not necessarily, but it can be a beautiful game.”

“Ah, it’s a first date game,” Glasgow Girl surmised.  Graffiti Guy winked at her.  “To be honest, though,” he confessed, “this doesn’t feel like a ‘first date’ with you, because I believe we have always been together, there is no beginning and no ending with you.”

Glasgow Girl blushed.  “You believe that?”

“I believe my heart.”

“Well, I always say to look with your heart, sooo…,” her voice trailed off as she smiled at him.  It was Graffiti Guy’s turn to blush, though the moment was broken as the server came to their table and set their plates down.  As soon as they smelled their food, they both realized they were starving.  Graffiti Guy dug into his potato wedges, but looked up when he heard Glasgow Girl laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

She smiled as she looked at her plate.  “A game of two halves, eh?  As in, I have two halves of a toastie and you were hoping for one of them?”  She picked up one of the halves and held it in front of him.  The lopsided smile she got in return told her she wasn’t wrong.

“See, two halves, literally and figuratively.  You read my mind,” said Graffiti Guy as he grabbed the toastie. 

“Mmmhmmmm, I see what you did there,” she replied as she bit into her half.

..

An hour later, the two of them were in a cab.  Though it was getting late, neither was ready to let go of the night.  Graffiti Guy turned to Glasgow Girl.

“One more wee stroll before I see you home?” he asked.

She nodded.  “The Necropolis, please,” she said to the driver.  Graffiti Guy looked surprised. 

“That’s an odd choice, especially at this hour,” he said.

Glasgow Girl shrugged.  “It’s one of my favorite places to visit, it’s so beautiful and peaceful.  And I’ve never been there at night before.”

“So it’s a night of firsts, then,” smiled Graffiti Guy as they approached the front gate.  A small crowd had gathered for the guided night tour, and they made their way to the back of the group.  They followed along until the guide stopped at the first fork in the path.  As he was launching into his story behind that particular monument, Glasgow Girl and Graffiti Guy quietly slipped away down the other path.  Glasgow Girl glanced over her shoulder as they disappeared around a bend.

“We’ll need to mind the time,” she cautioned.  “We don’t want to get back to the gates after them and find ourselves locked in.”

“That only gives us about an hour, then,” Graffiti Guy checked the time on his phone.  “Where to?”

“I’ll take you to my favorite sculpture,” she smiled.  They walked in silence for a few minutes, admiring the magnificence of the sculptures and monuments they passed. 

“I always wished I lived near this place, like across the street or something,” mused Glasgow Girl.  “Could you imagine looking at this view from your home every day?”

“Hmmm, the graveyard near the house,” said Graffiti Guy.

“What?” asked Glasgow Girl.

“You just made me think of a song,” Graffiti Guy laughed and started softly singing. 

“The other day when we were walking by the graveyard near the house
You asked me if I thought we would ever die
And if life and love both fade so predictably
We’ve made ourselves a kind of predictable lie.”

Glasgow Girl gave him a questioning look.  Graffiti Guy smiled and continued singing.

“…I will carry you with me up every hill
And if you die before I die I’ll carve your name out of the sky…

…It’s better to love, whether you win or lose or die…”

Graffiti Guy paused, lost in his thoughts.  Glasgow Girl looked up at him.  “Well, that was both a strange and lovely song,” she said.

“Aye,” agreed Graffiti Guy.  “It’s rather deep and not your typical kind of love song, but it’s a song that always pulls me in whenever I hear it,” he looked down at her and smiled. 

Glasgow Girl’s heart skipped a beat.  She didn’t trust herself to keep staring up at him, so she diverted her eyes momentarily and found they were actually coming up on their destination.

“Speaking of loving and dying,” she said as she pointed in front of them.  They stopped in front of a large sculpture of a woman holding a blanket in grief to her face, presumably to soak up her tears.

“Wow,” whispered Graffiti Guy.

“Yeah,” replied Glasgow Girl.  “This is the piece that pulls me in, more than any other sculpture in here, this is the one that moves me the most.”

They stood there in silence together, the song lyrics still swirling in their heads as emotions danced to the forefront.  Graffiti guy gently took Glasgow Girl’s hand.  She rested her head on his shoulder for a minute before turning and looking up at him. 

“If we wait any longer, this moment will be gone,” he whispered.  “And I want to kiss you before that happens.”

In that moment, Glasgow Girl never wanted anything more in her life.

“Yeah,” she agreed.  “A kiss is a terrible thing to waste.”

**

© Dahlia Ramone:  October 10, 2020

Video:
The Graveyard near the House (by The Airborne Toxic Event)

This was written for Blogophilia Topic: Cats or Dogs
(I did not write on topic)

Writing Prompt:  Incorporate any song title by Andrew Lloyd Webber *

* A game of two halves / beautiful game/ I believe my heart / look with your heart / a strange and lovely song / a kiss is a terrible thing to waste

Points of Interest:
The Glasgow Necropolis