Page 10 of Trusting His Heart

His truth

“Once upon a time,” he started, taking her hand softly. She could take it back at any time, but he needed to feel her response to his truth. “There was a scared, English boy in a strange country. A beautiful young maiden captured the boy’s heart and they married. They lived a perfect life together and the young man promised to love her until the end of time.”

“Sounds like the perfect love story.” Bec returned to looking out the window but hadn’t taken her hand away.

“It was perfect, until the young maiden wanted to know why it was taking so long to give the young man the family they wanted.”

“Oh,” Bec turned back to him.

“The doctors didn’t take long to discover her body was already fighting an invader. They told the young man to enjoy what happiness they could because their perfect life would be over in months.”

“Oh, Geoffrey.” Bec’s tears returned. Normally, he hated pity and avoided anyone likely to show him sympathy. Still, he continued.

“The young maiden was the bravest warrior. She fought the dragon in Australia until she could fight no more. The young man took her to the States to enlist the help of the best dragon slayer in the world.”

“Oh, Geoffrey.” Lost in his own tale, he didn’t even acknowledge Bec. Never before had he told his story, his truth.

“We were kids when we fell in love, kids who didn’t know any different or any better. We learned about real, all-encompassing love in those twelve months. Dancing in the dark hospital room to music from our phones. Counting treatments and days in remission.”

Geoffrey lost himself in his grief, as fresh as it had been ten years ago when he stood beside her grave.

“Once upon a time, a young man watched his fairest maiden fight the dragon until it finally and cruelly defeated her. In his grief, he wrote random thoughts about the world that others took, published and honored him.”

“The young man became famous, for the work he knew would never have existed if the young maiden never met the dragon. If the young maiden lived a long and happy life with him, given him children then there would never have been the time or the anger to fight other demons.”

“Ten years?” she asked softly, now cupping his hand in her own.

“I came back to come to celebrate the ten years publishing of my work. Regardless of how I created the work, it still means a lot to both universities and they wanted the opportunity to relaunch it to the world.”

“What about you?”

“When the parties finished, I left town, fished with her doctor, drank too much and almost avoided doing what in the end I came here for.”

“Oh, Geoffrey.”

“I needed to say, ‘good bye’ to the love of my life. I went to the hospital where she died and watched another woman in her bed. Another family with the same look of hope and despair in their eyes. I went to her grave and made sure there was a fresh red rose at the head and saw the old roses at the foot.”

“Roses?”

“For the rest of my life, a single red rose will be placed on her grave. Our marriage was always going to be until my death do we part. Not hers.”

“So the girls are your way to stay hidden from the world?”

Geoffrey nodded and ordered a strong drink from the hostess. “Today is not the day to wait until midday for the first drink.”

“I’m not judging, if I can join you.”

“So, Miss Bec Garran, your turn.”

“Same dragon, different story. We were together for the diagnosis and then he left me to get milk and bread. Six months later, his sister rang me to say he wanted to say goodbye. For six months, six lousy months, he tried to run away from me. He didn’t want my pity or support or even my love.”

“What changed in the six months?”

“The treatments stopped working. They gave him twelve months to live and he ran out of money for the doctors and drugs.”

“He came home to you?” Geoffrey found it inconceivable even the thought of not being able to care for Rachel in her final months.

“I took home to him. His mum, sister and I took shifts. Everything I owned needed to be sold. We fought, he would push me away and ban me from the hospital.”

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