Page 29 of Wild Valentine
I shake my head, because I could never ask that of him. “I don’t want you to leave the mountain. I have to be here with my mom, but after…” I can’t say the words. Because how can I grieve for someone but also make plans for when they’re gone?
“Shhh.” His hands clasp mine. “Your mom is the most important thing right now. We’ll do what we need to do for her and then figure out our future together. We don’t need all the answers now. In fact, there’s only one answer I need right now.”
He slides down on one knee, his pants getting wet on the snow-covered ground.
“Hazel Lumley, will you marry me?”
Shock makes my mouth drop open. But there’s another feeling. As I look into the eyes of this kind, patient man who’s been through hell and heartache, I feel a deep connection, a soul connection. I know with certainty that this was meant to be. Upuntil this point our souls have been adrift, and they’ve finally found each other.
“Yes,” I squeal.
I’ve known this man only a short time, but it feels like forever. My mom is right. Maybe our souls have always been together, and we’ve finally found each other in this realm.
Whatever it is, Marcus is the man for me, and whatever the future holds, we’ll face it together.
EPILOGUE
HAZEL
Two years later…
“This is the place.”
My feet sink into the springy moss covered ground as I step into the ring of ancient oaks.
This was my mother’s favorite place in the woods. She would sit her for hours, claiming the ancient oaks had healing powers. I’m not sure it it’s true, but they gave her comfort in the last months of her life.
We moved Mom into the small cabin where I first stayed with Marcus and got a part-time nurse for her. It was wonderful having Mom close by as Marcus and I settled into our life together.
After reading the story I wrote about him, Marcus insisted I publish it, but not for an arts magazine. He saw how it could help people understand what some veterans go through and how it might help others in pain. I submitted it toTimemagazine, and it was published a few months later.
I’ve been working as a freelance journalist ever since. The stories take me away for a few days here and there, but I love coming back to the mountain and writing it all up in the peacefulness of the cabin.
When I finally told Marcus about my debts, he insisted on paying them off. I earn good money from my writing now, and together we were able to make Mom comfortable and get her the care she needed.
Marcus slides the baby backpack off and gets Maria out of the harness. She was born on February 15th, breaking the Valentine’s Day curse.
I no longer get anxious every time February 14throlls around. Now it’s a day to celebrate and to love, and that’s why it was Mom’s wishes to sprinkle her ashes today, on Valentine’s Day. She said the three happiest moments of her life happened on this day: meeting dad, getting married, and having me.
I pull the heavy urn out of my backpack, and we stand together in the center of the ancient oak circle. I hold the urn in the air and a breeze picks up, whistling through the trees and rustling the leaves.
I say the words that Mom wanted, a pagan prayer to guide her to the next realm.
She wanted no tears today, and so I imagine her and Dad meeting up again, wherever they are. I imagine how happy they’ll be to see each other as their souls entwine.
I think about all the love in my life, the past two years with Marcus, and how happy Mom was when she walked me down the aisle on our wedding day. How she held Maria in her arms and learned the news a few weeks ago of the new baby growing in my belly.
I scatter the ashes in a circle like she wanted, allowing some to fall into the stream to be carried down the mountain.
It’s a quiet ceremony and we walk back hand in hand, not talking, just letting the sounds of the mountain permeate our thoughts.
Mom has passed on, but I still have a lot to be grateful for.
Maria fusses in the baby backpack, so I take her out and carry her on my hip the rest of the way home.
She makes gurgling noises at me, trying to form her first sounds. Her wide eyes take in everything in the woods, and she giggles at the birds we see.
I sing to her as we walk, and Marcus puts his arm around me. In a few months, we’ll welcome her baby brother into our family.
We’re starting our new traditions, our new special days as we grow our family.
