Temporarily Yours

Chapter 39

One Year Later

Bo and Tate sat in the sand, racing their cars back and forth along the paths they had constructed. Each one was lined with rocks or sticks. Tate made his never-ending grumbling noises, mimicking a car.

"Daddy!" Bo exclaimed, pointing towards the woods.

I looked up, spotting Luke. I watched as he came up from the direction of Chelsea's cabin, an envelope in his hands. He reached us and smiled at the boys, squatting down to their level.

"Whatcha doin' kiddos?" He asked them.

"Playing cars! Can you play with us?" Tate asked excitedly.

"Yah, sure buddy, but just a moment." He said, ruffling Tate's hair before standing up.

Luke pecked me on the lips real quick before handing me the envelope. To Her was scrawled across the middle in ink, a woman's writing. I looked back up at Luke for some type of explanation and he just smiled. I knew it was for me to read in that instance so I walked towards the house, and sat down on the porch swing on our back porch. The envelope was sealed, never opened. Inside was lined paper. Pulling it out, I began to read the words written down.

To The Woman My Husband Loves,

If you're reading this it must be true, Luke loves you, beyond a shadow of a doubt... or else he wouldn't have given you this. I can only hope that you feel as strongly about him as he does about you.

I looked up from the paper, tears already glistening in my eyes; more were bound to fall, no doubt. Glancing towards Luke, he looked up from playing in the sand, making eye contact with me. I smiled, he stared back, love so abundant in his eyes, mirroring my own.

It saddens me that the cancer took me away from this world- from Bo and Tate, Til and Luke. I imagine it will be hard for Luke, losing me. He lost both siblings, a brother-in-law, and now his own wife. The man is hanging on by a thread I'm sure, but he has you now, to love and care for him like I did, to tell him everything will be alright in the end.

So, I'm writing this to thank you. Outside of my husband and kids, you are the most important person to me. Because I'm gone, they're yours now. Love them, make them laugh, hold them when they cry, and teach them wrong from right.

The thought of you gives me hope.The hope that my husband will learn to love again. The hope that you can remind him what it feels like to be in love and young again. The hope that Bo and Tate will have someone to pack their lunches again, God knows Luke can't make pb&j to save his own life. The hope that Til will have someone to go to for advice about girls. The hope that my family can be whole again.

Whoever you are, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

- Chelsea Linabury-Bryan