Page 135 of The Choices I've Made
The doorbell rang as we were finishing up.
“Oh, I’ve gotta go. I think those are my new guests for the weekend.”
“Okay, tell Mom and Dad I love them. I’ll be there next month!”
“Love you!”
We hung up, and I got my phone in my pocket just as I opened the door. But, instead of finding a middle-aged couple from Virginia, I found Terri, holding a single red rose.
“Um,” was all I could say.
“There’s a note on it. My job is done.” She handed over the rose and turned around without another word.
Completely confused, I pulled the small tag tied around the stem.“Go to the yellow room.”
It was written in Jake’s familiar yet incredibly messy script. I found myself smiling.
“Okay,” I said out loud, “I’ll play along.”
I ran up the stairs, my rose still clutched between my fingers, and I plowed through the door of the yellow room. There, on the bed, was another red rose with a note attached.
Feeling like a kid on Christmas morning, I jumped on the perfectly made bed, not caring in the least that I’d have to redo it, and I read the note.
“Here, in the yellow room, we gave each other our bodies, knowing our hearts would never be the same. One night, we said. But we knew it’d never be enough. Now, go out to the patio.”
I took a moment to sniff the perfect red rose. My eyes closed as I breathed it in, remembering the red corsage he had given me for prom that smelled just as sweet. Now holding two flowers in my hand, I charged down the stairs and out the back door. It took a moment of searching, but out toward the water, on a bed of grass, was another single rose.
I hurried down the path and snatched it up.
“Here, under the stars, we let each other go, knowing two broken shards could never make a whole. Find your next rose at the blue house.”
My eyes widened, as I was excited my little goose chase was continuing. Grabbing all three roses, I ran by the kitchen, snatched my purse, and headed out to the car, knowing he could only be referring to one specific blue house—his parents’ place. I thought briefly about running the short distance, but then I laughed at the idea.
It was the middle of summer.
I wasn’t fond of melting.
Driving down the old road, I caught sight of the blue house almost immediately. It was nestled between several old trees and had a grand entrance. Pulling to the front, I hopped out of the car and began hunting around.
I found what I had been looking for on the porch.
Picking up the rose and I read the note.“But we took the time, and went our separate ways. But now I’m ready to for an adventure. Are you? It requires a hammer, a few nails, and one other important piece of equipment. Meet me at the beach. You know where.”
My heart was hammering in my chest.Was he asking me to move in with him? Here?
I looked up at the old house, and suddenly, I could picture it. Kids in the yard, their happy laughter as I cooked dinner, and Jake building them a tree house.
Running back to the car, I drove like a maniac down to the spot where I knew I’d find him. It was the place we always went as kids when we wanted to be alone at night.
No tourists.
No parents.
No prying neighbors.
Just the two of us.
Parking the car in the sand, I slipped off my shoes and headed out to the dunes. There, in the distance, was Jake, holding one last rose.
