My mother sighed. “I didn’t want to get her hopes up in case…well they made one mistake already.” I nodded understanding. “She’s been-its’ been hard for her, son. She’s not been around a lot lately. “
I drew a question mark on the pad. How could she not be around lately? Did she go to college out of state?
“She moved out of her mother's a while back, honey. Got an apartment on the other side of town.”
College? I wrote
My mother shook her head. “She never went. Like I said it’s been hard for her.” She gave me another kiss on the forehead. “ Let me go get your father. Then we’ll send Ana in.”
My father came in a few moments later with my mother holding his hand. He flopped in a chair beside the bed,my hand firmly grasped in his, while he silently cried. He stood and grasp me tight to him. Losing my sister years before had put a strain on him , I couldn’t imagine what losing both children had been like for him and my mother. They both looked aged .I was angry my family had been caused so much grief when I’d been right here all along.
My parents leaned in giving me another hug together, then with clasped hands they walked out to get my AnaLee.
Chapter Twenty-Three: AnaLee
Mrs. Broadson returned with red eyes to get Mr. Broadson and they made their way down the hall. I was getting more nervous by the minute. I reached in my pocket and pulled out the picture of me and Jayse . I took in his eyes first. They glowed with happiness. I smiled a little at remembering that day. It was not long after we started dating. Jayse had found his dad’s old Polaroid camera while going through their attic and after searching around online bought enough film to last for two months. He’d snap pictures at least expecting moments. A lot of those shots filled my old shoe box at home. This picture though was perfect. He’d walked behind me slipping an arm around my waist whispering in my ear that he loved me then brought his arm around snapping the picture while we both had the perfect smiles on our face. In those smiles you could see the love we felt for one another.
A tear dropped on the picture. I wiped my eyes not realizing I was crying, when his parents stepped back into the hallway. They were holding hands and both wore smiles on their face.
I stood to meet them and Mrs.Broadson let go of her husband.
She took my hand in hers and smiled. “I know you’re confused about this sudden trip, but I promise it will all be worth while.” She then nodded at her husband and led me down the hall.
When reaching a wide tan door she let go of me.”Go on, honey. Everything will be fine.” Then she left.
I stood a moment longer, not knowing what I would find behind the door. Then I pushed it open slowly.
I kept my head down as I walked through the entrance and shut the door easily behind me . What I was suppose to be seeing, I didn't know but I was scared to look.
A breathy sound made my head snap up. When familiar green eyes met mine I gasped. Not believing what I was seeing, I slowly walked to the end of the bed reaching out to touch the shape of a foot beneath the sheet. When my hand made contact I knew I wasn’t imagining things. I met his eyes again. Eyes I thought I’d never again see in my life.
“ J-Jayse? “ Tears were streaming down his face as I walked closer.
Before I could catch myself my knees buckled and I collapsed to the ground in sobs.
Twenty-Four: Jayse
I watched as she fell to the floor in tears.I wanted to hold her so bad and I couldn’t sit in the damn bed and watch her cry.Shakily, I ripped the wires off of me throwing them to the side. I didn’t care when the monitor started beeping. I just had to get to Ana. I swung my legs out of the bed,gripping the rail like I'd been shown in therapy.When there was nothing left to hold onto I fell to the ground beside Ana and wrapped my arms around her best I could. She quickly turned into my chest, gripping my hospital gown like I would disappear. I sat on the floor ,both of us clinging to one another , and cried with her.
Moments later, that’s how the nurses and my parents rushing into the room, found us.
Epilogue
Jayse was able to finish his recovery in Georgia where I stayed with him every waking moment. It took six more months to get his weight back to normal along with walking on his own. His voice recovered gradually along the way also. Before, we'd filled several notebooks, telling each other how much we loved the other and all the things that we missed.Even though painful, he'd sometimes pull me close and whisper low in my ear how much he loved me.
The first night he was able to walk without having to hold onto anything, his parents decided to have a night out ,leaving Jayse the house to himself. When I walked in his room, it was covered in candles and sweet music was coming from his stereo. We laid in the middle of his bed gazing at one another all night. Just being able to feel his touch was enough.
When Jayse was fully recovered he decided to move into my apartment, where we did a lot of making up the time we lost. The first night we made love after so many years apart, I cried while Jayse whispered to me he'd never leave me again.
Afterwards with my head cradled against his chest, Jayse looked down at the ring I still wore on my finger.
“I can’t believe you never took it off after all this time."
The ring was still just as beautiful as the day he gave it to me.
“Why wouldn’t I? I told you I would wait for you forever and I couldn’t stand to take it off. Like a part of me would be missing …well an even bigger part. “
“What would you think about getting a new one? “ He asked.
Sitting up, I asked.“What do you mean? Like replacing it ?"
Even though I had Jayse back, the thought of removing my ring still scared me.
Seeing the panic in my eyes, he ran a thumb down my cheek. “No, you can still wear it but what if I add another one to it? One that matches it?”
I smiled. “That might be okay.”
He smiled back. “I want to marry you, AnaLee. Will you do that for me? Will you marry me?”
“Yes, of course I will” I pressed against him, kissing him hard. When kissing wasn’t enough, I gently covered his now husky frame with my slender one and let my body express the love I felt for him.
Months later, my mother and I occupied a vacant room getting dressed. My hair was done in long loose curls that flowed down my back while my mother’s was pinned up high with ringlets spilling over the clip. We decided to keep it simple but I still got my dream dress. It had a tight bodice, with a full princess skirt. At the moment though, I was reconsidering the tight part.
“Honey, hold still.” My mother pulled the zipper track as close together as she could.
“Oh I’m not going to be able to breath in this thing. “
“You’ve only got to wear it for maybe thirty minutes then we’ll change you into your sun dress. It has more stretch.” She grunted as she tugged.
“I know." I wheezed.
I felt my mother’s hand giveaway.” There! Got it.”
I let go of the breath I was holding which hurt beyond words when you’re five months pregnant. We found out last week we are having a little girl. I prayed she had my long,curly hair and Jayse's green eyes. Either way, I knew she'd be the most beautiful child, because she was apart of each of us.
Jayse couldn’t have been more excited. I'd been nervous to tell him, but to my surprise and satisfaction,he'd been over the moon about it. The next week we were house shopping, him claiming we couldn't raise a child in my tiny apartment. Luckily,we found a small white house close to both of our parents with red shutters. We'd spend many nights on the front porch,holding each other while we rocked in the swing.Jayse would lean over rubbing and kissing my belly,once I started showing,making my heart grow even more for him. I knew he was going to be a wonderful father and husband.
Our heads snapped up as the music started playing.” I think that’s your cue, Ana.” My mother said cupping my face.
" I love you,Ana.No matter how things
may have turned out with your father, I don't regret a single day spent with him. Without him,I wouldn't have you."
" I love you,too." I said leaning in to kiss her cheek.
Me, in my white dress holding my belly had to be quiet the sight, but the moment I stepped through the doors and took Mr.Broadson's arm Jayse met my eyes. From his expression I would have thought he had seen an angel. He watched me make my way to him.
My eye caught Mrs.Broadson sitting on the opposite side of my mother. She was dabbing her eyes with a wad of white tissue paper as she watched me. After kissing my forehead, Jayse’s father glided me to my groom in waiting and sat next to his wife,clasping her hand tightly.
My eyes quickly connected with my handsome Jayse. I smiled warmly,taking his hand in mine. His other hand rested on my belly.
“My girls.” He whispered then even softer “I love you AnaLee.”
“I love you too, Jayse. Forever.”
"Forever." He smiled.
Candice lives in Laurel,Mississippi with her husband and energetic toddler.When she's not chasing her son around she runs her photography buisness or is stuck in front of her computer pounding out stories.Her first short story was published March 2013 and she is currently working on two more short stories along with the first book of a three part series to release in 2013.
To learn more about Candice's upcoming releases visit:
https://www.facebook.com/AbsolutePowerSeries?ref=hl
Come Back to me:Short Story Page 5
