Something Worth Living For (Watty Awards 2011)

(Chapter 18) Something Worth Living For

Chapter 18

It has been one week. One week since Heather left. One week since Eric realised he still loved Allison and that he wanted her back.

He had to – on more than one occasion – catch himself in her presence from revealing how he truly felt. It’s not that he didn’t want her to know, but that he knew that this was delicate situation, one that he needed to handle with care and patience. If he just blurted out how he felt, Eric knew that Allison would be sceptic about the validity of his feelings.

So he waited. He knew the perfect moment would come and when it did he wouldn’t hold back. But he needed to do something in the meantime. ‘Things never happened over night’, was one of the things his mom used to say to him, ‘if you want something you have to go after it, you have to make it happen’. And where Allison was concerned he knew he had to make things happen. He needed to get her to fall in love with him all over again.

The first time, when they’d still been in college, it had been hard work. He’d been patient and persistent and that’s what he would be now. He needed to show her he was serious about her, that he wasn’t planning on going anywhere. Eric knew he also needed to show her how much he loved her. It was one thing to say the words; it was another to show that person how you feel. And as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

And that is what he had tried this week. He’d tried to let his actions speak for themselves.

He didn’t want to suffocate her with attention and make her suspicious of his intentions. So with some subtly, he began his unknown courtship of the woman he should have never let go.

He’d called Ally on Wednesday and had asked if it was okay with her if he took Chloe out for dinner after work that evening. She’d happily agreed and when Eric had gone to pick Chloe up, he’d cleverly gotten Ally to agree to join them. It had turned out to be a great night spent in their company. He’d gotten to show Allison his fatherly side and had on more than one occasion, caught her staring at them in admiration.

She’d invited him in for coffee when he’d taken them home, but he knew if he spent even a minute alone with her, he wasn’t so sure he’d be able to hold himself back then. He’d respectfully declined the offer, and decided that going home and relishing what the evening had to offer was a better idea.

He decided that giving her one day to breath, one day to wonder over the great evening they had would be a good idea and hadn’t called her Thursday. It was last night, however, that he’d planned her a big surprise.

Ally had mentioned to him that she was working her last week before she went on a two week holiday for the summer. She took it every year so that she could spend some quality time with Chloe without the interference of work.

Eric had rejoiced at the words. Now, not only was she free for whatever he might have planned to woo her, she would be spending less time with the doc. This thought had appealed to him more than anything else. So with Chloe’s help, he’d planned a relaxing evening for her.

He’d gotten off early from work and picked Chloe up from her grandparent’s place. Together, they’d gone grocery shopping for the few essential’s that were needed to cook some of Ally’s favourite dishes.

It was only when they’d almost completed their task that Eric realised having Chloe help him with anything which involved mess was a big mistake. Luckily for them both, Ally had worked late and by the time she got home, all the mess had been cleared away and all that was left was to enjoy a late meal with her family.