Broken (A Niall Horan Fan Fiction)

Chapter Twenty-Five

“It all started in the summer of 1950…” The old man started. “I was eighteen years old, and this young lady was sixteen. Oh, she was so beautiful.”

The man’s wife smiled up at him with a twinkle in her eye that only he could’ve brought. My eyes were filling up with tears before the story got good.

“I met her on the road one day. She was cryin’ and had tears streamin’ down her face, but she was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I stopped and asked her, ‘What’s wrong, beautiful?’ and she slapped me! She said it wasn’t proper to ask a lady about her personal life if y’all had never even met. Our relationship began exactly three weeks after that. Yes, I remember that day. It was June 13th, 1950. All of her friends were jealous. Her parents didn’t ever like me. They told her I wasn’t good enough for her, but I showed them, yes I did. I brought her momma some flowers and had a real nice talk with her daddy. After that, I had ‘em wrapped ‘round my finger. I remember my first date with Delilah. I brought her roses and took her out late to see the stars. I stole her first kiss that night, too. I still feel guilty to it this day, but Delilah said ‘It’s alright, James. I wanted to kiss ya anyways.’ So, everything was goin’ just fine. The romance never stopped. I brought her flowers every day and kissed her. On June 13th, 1954, I proposed to Delilah. She said yes.”

“That was the best day of my life,” The old man named James said. “But her parents didn’t think we were ready. She was twenty years old, and I was twenty-two. They said we didn’t know nothin’ ‘bout love, nothin’ at all. On June 27th, 1954, Delilah and her family announced they were movin’ away. She didn’t tell me, so I got angry with her. I got a real bad temper, and I said some stuff that I shouldn’t have. Delilah moved away the next day, and left me alone and with the ring I proposed to her with.”

“I was an absolute wreck. On April 14th, 1961, I got a job offer in Ireland. I took it, of course, ‘cause it paid more than over in the United States. When I got to Dublin, I noticed a familiar woman. It was Delilah, and she was even more beautiful than before, if that’s even possible. I almost ran right up to her and kissed her, but I noticed a big ‘ole ring on her right hand. A man walked up to her and kissed her. He stole the kiss that I was supposed to give her. I was so mad.”

“The next day, I saw her walkin’ ‘round a market, so I stopped her. I remember the look on her face… She cried right there. We started meetin’ up almost every day behind her husband’s back. I never kissed her while she and her husband were married, even though she told me to. I told her I wasn’t going to be that type of man. Finally, on June 13th, 1961, she divorced her husband. She lived with me after the divorce, and I proposed to her again on June 13th of 1962. I used the same ring as I did in 1954. So, finally, after waiting on her for almost eight years, we got married on June 13th, 1963.”

“Now, Delilah and I are here in London. Why? Well, because she wanted to come here after living in Ireland for 58 years. She said it was gettin’ a little boring. So, we came here to celebrate being married for almost 49 years… So, the point of this, kid, is don’t ever let your Delilah go away.” James said.

Delilah looked up at him, suddenly looking younger than when I first saw her.

“You know, Delilah, you just get more beautiful with age,” James told her as he kissed her nose.

The tears were running down my face after hearing James and Delilah’s story.

“James, it would be nice if you and Delilah would stay in touch.” Niall said.

“Of course! I have one of those gadgets, oh what are they called, Delilah?” James asked.

“A cell phone, dear?” Delilah asked.

“Yes! I have a cell phone. Thank you, sweetheart,” James said as he kissed Delilah’s cheek.

James gave Niall his cell phone number, along with his home number.

“Come visit us any time in Ireland. We don’t really live in Dublin, though. We live in Mullingar,” James said.

Niall’s face brightened.

“Thank you for telling us your story, James,” I told him.

“No problem, Delilah,” He told me.

“My name is Ariella…” I said.

“I know,” He said.

“Bye James,” James told Niall.

He winked at the two of us before helping Delilah up, and walking away.

All of a sudden, I put two and two together.

I was Niall’s Delilah, and he was my James.