Page 65 of When Forever Stays

He surprises me when he pulls me in for a hug, and I firmly pat his back, swallowing down my emotions. “I mean it. I want to be a part of your life. I meant every word of that song.” My voice is raspy and full of emotion.

Oscar pulls back, looking confused. “How do you know I listened to it?"

“Then why else would you have gone to my apartment and trashed it?”

“You’re right, I did listen to it. Then I went straight to your apartment to talk to you.” He swipes under his nose. “Your real estate agent was there. She told me you were moving out of town and she was trying to sell your apartment.” He kicks at a pebble on the sidewalk. “So I snuck back in and trashed it, trying to get back at you.”

I nod. “Honestly, I can see why you’d be so upset.”

“I’m sorry,” Oscar says for the first time.

Ashley walks over to stand beside him and wraps an arm around his waist. “I knew when you were a toddler I’d be doomed once you became a teenager with your stubbornness.” She ruffles his hair. “I guess I should be thankful you waited until you were sixteen to throw your first tantrum.”

Oscar shakes his head, but a smirk is on his lips. Then he looks up and stares at me, and it’s like looking at a mirror into the past.

“I’ll call you when I make it back. And we’ll make plans for you to come down soon,” I say.

“Sounds good.” He pauses, then adds, “Dad.”

I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face or the tear that escapes. Then I pull him in for a strong hug and say goodbye to the son I recently learned existed and am beyond grateful to have.

TWENTY SEVEN

DANA

“He’s coming back, you know,” Rosa says.

As much as I want to be as confident as she sounds, I can’t manage to get my hopes up. Rhett vanished once; he could easily do it again.

“You two have a lot more history now. That man can’t take his eyes off you when you’re in the same room. Even on stage, his eyes always come back to yours. Doing what he loves and made a career out of, and his focus is on you.” Rosa gives me a gentle smile. “And the Lord, of course. It’s clear his talent is from God and that Rhett sings and plays for God’s glory. But my point is Rhett is always looking for you and that man loves you.”

I give her a half-hearted smile. What she says about Rhett on stage is true. And just the thought of his brown eyes meeting mine across the room while his voice washes over the crowd gives me chills, but believing that he’s coming back is still a concept I refuse to let my heart grasp onto. I can’t help it. Watching him leave this time left a sick feeling in my stomach. No matter how many times he’s called and assured me he’scoming home to me, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m not enough for him. That he’ll disappear again and leave me behind.

If Rhett decides to hang back for a while longer to try and build something with Oscar, I won’t try to guilt him out of it. Oscar is his son, and he deserves to know his dad. It’s selfish of me to keep worrying about it. No matter what happens, God is in control.

I release a resigned sigh and take a long drink of my coffee while staring out at the beach. We’ve positioned our chairs to face the ocean. The sun rises above the waters, bathing the sky in orange and pink hues. As I stare at the wisps of clouds, tears spring to my eyes.

For so long, I questioned God about Rhett, about finding the one, about getting married and starting the next stage of my life with a husband. Especially with my stint as the never-ending bachelorette. Sure, my love life has been moving forward more slowly than I’d hoped. But that has proven to be a good thing. God’s timing is perfect. His will is going to be done no matter what. If Rhett is it for me, he’ll return or God will find a way to make it happen. But if he’s not, God has another plan, and I need to trust in the waiting.

Rosa’s voice breaks through my thoughts. “When I was a little girl, I had my entire wedding planned. My dream dress was sketched, and every detail down to the flower arrangements was noted,” Rosa says as if she can read my mind.

“What?” I ask without hesitation.

She gives me a radiant smile. “My parents were a beautiful example of a truly God-honoring, Christ-centered marriage, and I wanted that desperately. Both of them showered me and eachother with love. It’s something I ached for as I grew older.” Rosa sets her mug down and wraps her aged hands around it, lightly drumming her red nails against the porcelain. “When I was in college, I sought my future husband.” She chuckles softly. “My mom said I didn’t go to college to learn, I went to find a husband. And she was right.” She turns her glassy eyes to me. “But I never found him. None of the guys there had any interest in me.”

“I find that hard to believe,” I say. Even as a late-middle-aged woman, Rosa is naturally beautiful. Not that looks are everything, but when you pair that with her sweetness and care for others, she’s the full package.

“Well, God had a plan for me so I was able to work unhindered in areas where men were not welcome. I was able to witness to women in shelters; if I was married, I’d have to leave my husband for months on end to achieve what God allowed me to. I saw so many of those women come to the Lord and start their healing journey.” Her expression is radiant.

“I didn’t know you did all of that,” I say, feeling like a horrible friend when I see how one-sided this relationship has been.

“Well, I don’t go around talking about it. Since I’ve moved to Amber Island, countless people from the church have tried to fix me up with the widowers and older bachelors.” She gives a soft laugh. “I’m far past the age of child-bearing. The more I trusted in the Lord and leaned into Him for understanding and seeking my God-given purpose, the more those desires to be a wife and mother faded into the background.”

I release a mix between a laugh and a scoff. “Moments before I found Rhett, I begged God to remove my desire to be a wife and mother. I was so sick of being the last step before guys jumped into marriage with someone else, and I felt so rejected eachtime.” I swallow, remembering how I felt when my eyes landed on Rhett as he turned his head to face me. It was just like the first time I laid eyes on him, as if my heart said, “This is the one we’ve been waiting for.”

“And then God brought you Rhett.”

“And then God brought me Rhett,” I repeat.

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