Page 110 of Hunt for the Roses
My mom nods sympathetically and places her hand over mine. “You have to understand their reactions.”
I take another sip of my cold brew and lean back in my chair as I run my fingers through my hair. “I do. I definitely do,” I say as I exhale a long breath and stare out the window again.
“Do you still want to be with her?” my mom asks as she tilts her head like she’s trying to read my mind. I swallow as I stare out the window, and I don’t respond right away because I still don’t know the answer.
It takes a few moments to collect my thoughts, but then I start speaking. “I can’t be with her the way I want to be with her.” I turn to face my mom. “She’ll never love me the way she did Kyle, and I can’t spend our whole relationship comparing our love to what they once shared.”
My mom nods as if she understands what I’m trying to say, and I shrug before taking another sip of my drink. “I’m sorry, Dane. I know how much you must’ve cared for her for you to confide in me.”
I place a hand over my mom’s in an appreciative gesture. “I know you are. Thanks.” I sigh as I change the subject. “So enough with my sob story, what’s going on with you? How’s the new puppy?”
“Oh, my god, this pug is the most rambunctious thing in the world. Cute, but spiteful,” she says.
I chuckle. “Oh, yeah? How does a small runt like that cause so much chaos?”
She waves her arms with a laugh. “I have no idea. Chris and I came home from dinner to find that Pepper had ripped up his wee wee pads to shreds in his cage.”
“This is why you must properly train the dog,” I say with raised eyebrows.
My mom rolls her eyes. “We’re trying, okay?”
I just smile. “So how’s Chris? If he’s not making you happy, I’ll have to kick his ass.”
“As a matter of fact, I’ve never been happier in my life,” she says with a big smile and takes a sip of her latte.
I return her big smile. “That’s great, Mom. I’m really happy for you.”
She nods her head. “It’s definitely been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. We’re actually planning to go to Las Vegas in September.”
“Yeah? Well if that’s the case, I’m crashing the trip,” I joke.
“Oh, no. I don’t want to be babysitting you after clubbing all night, and then having to take care of you while you’re throwing up in the bathroom,” she says as she shakes her head.
I furrow my brows when I respond. “Clubbing? Throwing up? I’m not twenty-two anymore, Mom.”
She shrugs. “Whatever. The point is this trip is for Chris and me only.”
I hold my hands up. “Okay, I can take a hint.”
“Glad we have an understanding,” she says with a smile.
There are more small laughs here and there, and when we finish our drinks, we head on out. As we drive back to my mom’s house in my Mustang, our drive is a little quiet for the first few minutes until my mom speaks. She’s looking out the passenger window as she says, “If you keep comparing your love, you’ll never have your own beginning.”
I turn to my mom for a second to see if she’s talking to me or herself, but she’s staring out the window and I have no idea what she’s referring to. “What?” I ask.
My eyes are back on the road as she turns to face me now. “If you keep comparing the love you and Aria have to what she once shared with Kyle, then you two will never have your own beginning.” Again, I look at her for a second, then turn my eyes back to the road. I narrow my eyes slightly as I comprehend what she just said to me, and when I don’t respond right away, she continues. “He’ll always be with her, Dane. That part of her won’t go away.” Then she turns to look out her passenger window. “You can’t rewrite her story, but you can give her a new story. A new beginning.”
My eyes are looking at the road, but I’m not seeing what’s physically in front of me. Memories of our time together in the rose garden shine in my mind. Aria explaining the meanings of the different colored roses, Aria sharing the quote her therapist read to her, Aria expressing her mission to find the beauty in this world, and then I think about the last time we were together intimately.
This whole time, I thought the only way our love could survive was if Aria felt the same way about me as she did for Kyle. I wanted us to have that same kind of love because I knew how strong and powerful that love was between them.
But the reality is, that’s not what she wants.
She wants a second chance at love itself. She wants a different story. She wantsa new beginning. And if I could give her a new beginning, then I wouldn’t have to worry about her love being as strong as it was with someone else. Because if I am able to give her a rebirth in this life, her love would come on a clean slate.
It would be a different love story.
It would beourlove story.
