EPILOGÍ 'The Choice' (Mature; 18+)

Chapter 37 - Memory Lane

"Babe, we're here," I whisper to his ear. No reaction. I parked the car near the lake. All emotions are starting to gather and it's getting a little hard to breathe.

I look at Gage and he's still passed out. We slept here last night, and even after we made love, he wasn't able to get some sleep. He held me in his arms all through the night not letting me go. Although he relaxed a bit, he was still beating himself up with what happened.

This morning, I forced him in the passenger seat to try and get sleep. Half-way through the drive, he finally did. 

We arrived here in Newport around four in the afternoon. I headed straight to the diner while he was still asleep and had some meals to go. Dolores was there and greeted me with all smiles until it fell into a sorry face when she realized why I'm back. The pitiful stares no longer affect me. It's as if I turned numb or maybe I finally started to move on. My bets are on the latter.

"Gage?" still no reaction. I decided to let him sleep. 

I got off the car and the breeze that welcomed me feels comforting. I walked to the small dock and sat at the edge, letting my toes touch the water. I sat there, reminiscing everything. Heavy sighs came out of me as I recalled the accident, how it hit me that I'll be alone from then on. 

But then I backtracked to all the happy memories I had with mom and dad, how we always come down here when I was little. How we always spend every holiday together, always happy. How they were proud of me finishing college and how they were excited that Paul and I are getting married.

Then my thoughts drifted to Paul, how we met, how he wormed his way into my life, how he stood up to Jason, and how we started our life together. 

I looked down my chest and I see the engagement ring, hanging from a chain around my neck. And I remember how I almost threw it away until the boys rescued it from the fire and Gage made it into this necklace.

"Rach," Gage was walking down the dock, with the flowers we bought earlier. "Sorry, I passed out cold." He sat beside me his left foot dangled on the water, his right propped up behind me caging myself around him, as he kissed my temples.

"How long have you been here?" he asked giving me the flower wreath.

The sun is about to set, the bright orange and yellow streaks started to paint the lake. "I guess an hour or more."

I took some petals and scattered them on the water before we dropped the wreath onto the water. We sat there in silence, watching as the light and steady current carried the petals and wreath away. 

I smiled and looked far out. In my mind, I'm introducing Gage to Paul and my parents, as if they're just right in front of us. I'm telling them that they need not worry anymore, that I am no longer alone. Slowly I have rebuilt my broken self.

I closed my eyes and burrowed myself in Gage's arms. In me, I'm telling Paul that I took his word from the dream to be happy. And I truly am.

There'll always be that space in my heart for Paul. And I know that Gage kept that space open and protected. He never tried to claim it all, he knows it's always gonna be there and he respects that. That alone showed me how much he loved me. 

From that moment we sat on that rock up on the falls, when he gave me back my ring, I just knew I loved him and I feel him love me too. And the most precious thing is that I felt Paul was there approving of it all.

We stayed for a few more minutes, ate our take out meals and decided to head to the hotel. It was already dark when we finally checked in, and so we decided to rest.