Baby, You Save Me

Every now and then I get a little lost, my strings all get tangled, my wires all get crossed. Every now and then I'm right up on the edge, dangling my toes out over the ledge, and that's when she saves me, except this time she wasn't there.
...
"Dad, how did you get that scar on your chest?" My son asked as I was tucking him into bed.
"It's a long story, are you sure you're up for it?"
"Please," he begged.
"Alright," I gave in. "It all started when I met the prettiest woman in the world..."
I first met Addie when I moved to Bayside for the winter. I had just finished my 5th season with the acrobat company I toured with, and decided I wanted a change from the cold winters of Vermont. I bought a small house on the bay and settled in for an uneventful winter, or so I thought. Bayside was a sleepy southern town, not far from the big city, but far enough that you still hear the cicadas at night. I enjoyed its tranquillity, every morning after my workout, I would walk along the shore watching boats and seagulls. Sometimes I would wander into town and walk around the square, grabbing a coffee or checking out the shops. My favorite shop was The Market, an eclectic health food store, that always smelled of herbs and spices. Its where I did all my shopping. It was in this shop where I first met Addie.
I accidentally bumped into her while picking out some pasta. She was so beautiful, like drop dead gorgeous beautiful. She was tall and curvy, with wavy blond hair that cascaded past her shoulders, and the prettiest smile I had ever seen. Her blue eyes locked with mine, and I got incredibly nervous.
"Don't you just love this store," I said, trying to diffuse the tension. She laughed, and my heart skipped a beat.
" I would hope so, since I own it, but I'm glad you like it," she said with a slight southern drawl. "You're new around here aren't you? My name is Addie Belle but you can call me Addie." She extended her hand to me.
"I'm Gavin," I said shaking it.
"I have a feeling that we are going to be friends Gavin."she said with a smile. And I have a feeling I'm going to marry you, I thought to myself.
I found myself going to the store more and more, until my pantry was overflowing. I enjoyed talking to Addie, she was sweet and easy going, but for some reason I could not work up the nerve to ask her out. I'm a pretty brave guy, I jump through the air and walk across tightropes several stories up for a living, but with people, especially beautiful women, it was different; I was extremely shy.
One day when I was walking past the shop on another errand, I saw Addie out front hanging up some signs. As she reached up high to tape one of the signs, I saw a sunflower tattoo on her upper thigh, which gave me an idea. I immediately went to the florist and bought a bouquet of sunflowers.
As I entered the shop, Addie had the biggest smile on her face, and suddenly I couldn't speak.
"Yes," she said.
"What?" I asked bewildered.
"Yes, I'll go out with you," she replied. My heartbeat began to slow and I relaxed. This woman was amazing. "How did you know sunflowers were my favorite?"
"Lucky guess," I lied. "Do you want to go to dinner tonight?"
"That would be lovely," she said.
Addie was everything I had hoped for in a woman. She was smart and independent with a wonderful sense of humor, she was the type of person that you could spend all day with. She shared my love of cooking and books, and took an interest in my career. She even introduced me to her family, who accepted me as one of their own, which was new for me since I didn't have much of a family. Whenever she wasn't working or I wasn't training, we were together.
A month into our relationship, she took me to a hidden lagoon, a little ways out of town. It was one of the most beautiful places I had ever been too. The water was so clear and blue you could see the bottom, and the moss draped trees created the perfect covering. We went right around sunset and took a picnic with baguettes, various cheeses, grapes, and olives. I wanted so badly to tell her I loved her, but I was scared she wouldn't love me back. I knew she liked me, but she likes everyone. It tore me up all night. I had wanted to tell her from the moment I met her, and now I knew for sure, but I was too much of a coward to say it. I've always had a problem with anxiety, and that night was no exception.
"What's bothering you Gavin?" Asked Addie with a genuine look of concern.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it baby."
"Did I do something?" She asked.
"No of course not. Look, Addie when I first moved here I didn't have much going for me, the only thing I had to live for was my career, but that's changed now. I used to be so lonely, but now I have you, and you brighten my life everyday. Addie I.." The words caught in my throat, but Addie came to my rescue, like she always does.
"I love you, Gavin." I hugged her as tight as I could and kissed her firmly on the lips. I was so relieved.
"I love you too Addie," I said, and then we both began to laugh.
The rest of the month seemed to go by in a blur, which is a shame because it was one of the happiest months of my life. Starting in February, I began training with my acrobat troupe again, and to my dismay, I found out my arch enemy had joined the troupe. Zayne Archwood had been my rival since college. We always auditioned for the same parts, and he usually got the role, thus lowering my self esteem. After college, he moved to the west coast, and I thought that would be the last I would see of him, but unfortunately it was not.
When I first saw his name on the roster my stomach was in knots. This was supposed to be my year, and now he was going to take that away from me. I almost thought about quitting, but thankfully, Addie was there to comfort me.
"This will just give you a push to train even harder," she told me, and it did. I trained harder than I ever did before, but unfortunately that meant less time with Addie. Luckily, the troupe rehearsals were only an hour away in Miami, so I still got some time with her.
Rehearsals were brutal, but I was happy to be back doing what I loved. To my surprise, I was given the lead role over Zayne, which meant I would have to work even harder. It also meant more stress. Addie came to my rescue there as well. Every night when I came home from rehearsal she would be there with a bath drawn and dinner made. I felt so lucky to have such a supportive woman in my life. I loved coming home to Addie, it just felt right.
Before long our tour started. We would start in Miami, then travel to 20 different states. I asked Addie to come with me, but she refused, stating that she needed to take care of the store and her mom who had various health conditions. I was heartbroken, but understood. We would try to make it work the best that we could.
She came to the Miami show to say goodbye. Knowing she was in the audience gave me an extra boost to do better than I ever had before. Afterwards, I took her to dinner and we said our goodbyes. I would fly out to see her in a month. It was so hard to say goodbye, I cried almost the whole flight to Atlanta, our next tour stop.
For the next few months, I would see her once a month just for a day or two, and call her when I could, but with such a demanding schedule it was difficult. I missed her every day, and it started to put a strain on my performance. My director threatened to give my role to Zayne, if I didn't straighten up. I begged Addie to come on the road with me, but she refused again, which made things worse. The next month she told me not to come visit her, stating she couldn't do it anymore, she was breaking up with me.
It practically destroyed me. For a week I was the most depressed I had ever been, and Zayne took my part that week. Seeing him perform my part made me furious, and I threw myself into my training. I trained harder than I ever had before, earning my spot back and pissing off Zayne in the process. Performing became my life again, I became a monster. My director liked the person I had become, and even added another act to our show, a big stunt for our final show, but I did not. I broke down right before the last show and wrote a letter to Addie, asking her to take me back and sent tickets to the final show
The big stunt was a fiery tightrope walk higher than I had ever done before. I was nervous, but at that point I didn't care if I lived or died. Zayne was insanely jealous of the part, and tried to fight me for it, but in the end I kept the part.
Finally, the big night came, as I stood at the end of the high wire, I tried to look for Addie, but didn't see her. Something didn't feel right. I felt lost, my strings were all tangled, my wires all got crossed. I dangled my toes out over the edge and then started out across the rope, and right as I got to the middle, I felt something like an explosion in my chest and fell into the net below me, unconscious.
I was out for several days. Zayne had shot me in a jealous rage. He was arrested immediately and I was
rushed to the nearest hospital for surgery, but none of the doctors thought I would make it. They kept me on life support until one of my parents could make it to decide what to do. My dad lived in Amsterdam and mom was vacationing in South America, so it took them a few days. Prior to all this happening, Addie received my letter.
Dear Addie,
I don't know how you did it, I'm not sure how you knew the perfect thing to say to save me from myself. You were the angel that believed in me, like nobody else, and I thank God you did. I know I didn't tell you nearly enough, but I couldn't live one day without your love. And it's true, I can't, what I'm doing now isn't living. I miss you every day Addie, and I'm willing to give up this life if you'll have me. I would love it if you could come to my final show, possibly the last of my career. I hope to see you soon.
Love Always,
Gavin
Addie flew out as soon as she got the letter, but her plane was delayed and she missed the show. Once she got the news of what happened, she rushed to the hospital. I was on the brink of death, my body had nearly given up as Addie knelt at my bedside and prayed. I couldn't hear her, but later one of the nurses said it was one of the sweetest prayers she had ever heard. I wasn't religious at the time, but Addie and the grace of God saved me. A few days later I woke up to my sweet Addie. We shared a teary eyed reunion. She stayed with me throughout my recovery. Once I recovered, I went to my tour manager and told him I was quitting the show because I moving to Florida to marry the love of my life.
Your mother and I were married on a Sunday, at the church where we are now members. As we shared our vows, I told her the one thing that rang true for our entire relationship.
"No matter where my reckless soul takes me, baby, you save me." Then the preacher announced us as husband and wife, and I kissed my beautiful bride.

I looked down at our now sleeping son, and then glanced up to see my beautiful and very pregnant Addie standing in the doorway. I thanked God for everything He had done in my life, and then followed my wife and my savior to bed.