He froze there for a second as he held the doorknob. He couldn’t believe that she was standing there. He didn’t know what to do or say. He was frozen until she asked again. “May I come in? Or did I come at a bad time?” “No, not at all, please come in.” He responded. As he led her into the living area, he tried hard to be neutral and not show any signs of happiness that she was there.
“Is May in any kind of trouble at school?” He asked
No, she is a great student to have.”
‘This definitely not a teacher-parent meeting.”
“It’s definitely not. It’s more of old friends catching up meeting.” she added.
“In that case, would you like something to drink or eat?” He asked.
“No, I am good for now, thank you.”
“So how have you been? It has been such a long time since we last saw each other.”
“Well, you were the one who took off out of the country, started a new life and forgot all about everyone.” She spoke.
“I didn’t forget about anyone, but it was time to go considering that I wasn’t accepted by others. There was no point in making a major announcement of my departure; it didn’t seem like anyone cared.”
“I cared.”
“After our last meeting, I didn’t think you cared if I dropped off the face of the earth.”
‘Oh my god; you still remember that night?”
He cut her off, telling her how that one night the things that were said were the reason for such radical changes. Her words broke him then and made him accept a job offer overseas, which he turned down a few days before their fight. He turned it down the first time because he didn’t want to leave her behind. The picture was becoming clearer.
It was her turn to cut him off and explain her side of the story. It was finally her time to say sorry for the things she once said and didn’t mean. It was finally time to tell him that she said those things to motivate him; she said them to get a reaction out of him; she said them with the hope that he would take a step toward a better future for them.
“I never meant to push you away and I am very sorry.” She expressed sorrow.
“No Need to be sorry. Those words were inspiring; they got me through so much. Plus, that is in the past now, and we both have gone our separate ways. You are married now and hopefully happy, and I have a little girl who is the joy of my life.
“Married! Who told you that I was married?” She sounded surprised.
“No one did, I was there on the day of your wedding.” He looked away.
“Then you must have left early.” She smirked.
“What do you mean?”
“The wedding never actually took place.”
He was puzzled and confused. He remembered that day as if it were today. It was the day he buried his love for her; it was the day he lost her forever. She explained to him what happened on that day; “I was getting married, because I had lost hope and faith in love.” She told him everything about that day and what led her to accept settling. She explained to him how she walked out on her wedding.
“Wow that sounds like something you only see in movies Ms. Run Away Bride.” He joked hoping to lighten the mood.
” You can say that. I couldn’t just settle and give up on what I really wanted. Now, how about you, Mister? You left the country and started a family; you have to tell me all about it.
“That is a long story.”
“I have the time, so you better make us two cups of coffee and start speaking.”
“Well let’s just say that I did get married, but I didn’t.”
“Is this a puzzle? Please explain” she asked
“When I moved, the company I worked for sponsored me, but that didn’t last long. Few months after I moved, things didn’t work out too well. I got so home sick and developed new unhealthy habits that eventually led to losing my job and the sponsorship. I started working some crappy part time jobs to pay the bills. Anyway, it didn’t all change until one morning I woke up at the hospital after getting alcohol poisoning. At this point, I was almost deported from the country since they had to do a background search on me, because they found me almost dead on the streets. They found out I wasn’t a legal resident.”
“Oh my god, this is insane.”
“Yea, it was and that was when I got married to May’s mother who basically saved me. She was my neighbor, and we were close friends especially that I was always there when she needed help with her illness after her husband died in a motorcycle accident. He left her 2 months pregnant, and she couldn’t make it on her own.”
“May is not your daughter!!!” She gasped.
“She is not my biological daughter, but we are all that we both have. She is my world.” he explained
“So how come she has your last name? And where is her mom?”
“Her mom was extremely ill; she almost didn’t make it through the pregnancy, and she passed away a few months later. After May’s birth, her mom made me promise that I would always take care of her. She even asked me to pick the name as if she knew that she was about to part from our world. So once May made it into this world, we finalized the adoption papers, and I became her legal guardian and her dad.”
“This poor child.” May Said
“By the way, May doesn’t know anything about this and I want to keep it this way.” He added. The mood in the room was completely changing. The facts were finally revealed. The two hearts are now relieved.
“So?” May asked
“Buttons.” He smiled. The two of them giggled as they looked deeply into each other’s eyes till she asked him. “What made you pick the name May?”
“As if you don’t know” he responded.
She giggled and asked why again. He smiled back at her. While in the background the little girl was hopping into the room singing the words of her favorite song.
THE END!
