"So, you and Elijah, huh?" Her mom said with a smile.
Her father was in their bedroom, calling hotel after hotel, while Elijah had taken his phone call outside.
Her mom didn't wait for her reply before continuing on. "Could see that thing coming a mile away. Your grandfather was right. The way he was looking at you all last night, let's just say 'intense' would be putting it mildly. Everyone swarmed around him, but all he could see was you.
"And when we came up to see the two of you, I know he was happy to see us, but it was nothing compared to the way he looked and spoke to you. Not to mention the way he couldn't stop holding you. Like he was scared that if he let go, you'd disappear forever. We were always his family, but you were the only one he ever really needed.
"You'd think after all that time, things would have faded. That's how it's meant to go. But for Elijah, hell for you, all that time did was deepen the bond. It's like the two of you completely defied the laws of nature. It only makes sense for something like that to lead to love."
Madeline remembered her mom tossing around the 'L' word when she dated Marty. It was understandable, as they'd dated for two and a half years. But Marty had been a friend who'd blossomed into something more. The difference was, nothing ever fully bloomed. She'd cared for him, but new early on that it would never lead to love, which was why her mother's teasing was so mortifying.
"Sure you're not jumping on the love train a little early there, momma bird?"
Her mom shook her head as she picked up a dish, and put it in the fridge. "You and I have always been close, right? Elijah's been gone along time, but he was right. We've always been open with one another, even with uncomfortable stuff."
Madeline nodded her agreement. "We are."
"When you'd been dating Marty for a while, I told you it was okay for you to come to me to talk when you thought you were ready to have sex. You promised me you would. And you sounded like the two of you were going to, but then you admitted it didn't happen, and you broke up. If you didn't take that leap with him, something tells me you didn't take that leap at all. Until last night."
Well, that insight had been unexpected, but it certainly shed light on her prior statement. So Madeline sat at the small table in the quiet room, away from all the extended family who would surly tease her for waiting so long to give it up. Grandpa would whine about the fortune they spent sending her condoms she never used, while her grandmother would say something along the lines of 'use it, or lose it'.
"Before I fell asleep last night, I remembered the night of graduation. It was supposed to be the night Marty and I slept together. He asked me why I seemed so out of it, so I told him. It wasn't the first time I'd spoken to him about Elijah, but Marty told me he was sick of competing for my attention with some guy who wasn't in my life. He was tired of never being able to measure up, and he was done with me.
"A week later, he called to apologize, and wanted to try long distance, but I didn't see the point. He was right. Every person in my life's always competed with Elijah. They weren't as kind, or as honest. They didn't know me, inside and out. They weren't as fiercely protective, or so in tune with my emotions. They didn't listen as well, or were as brave. They weren't as open, or didn't show me how much I mattered to them every day. It's like I had the very greatest friend the first time around, and everyone's always failed in comparison.
"When Elijah left, I'm not sure if I knew what sex was at that point. I knew about love, but I didn't have a real understanding of what being in love meant. So it wasn't like I was saving myself for him this whole time, but in a way, that's what it felt like. It was like there was a secret inside of me that I wasn't allowed to hear, and it kept holding me back without telling me why.
"Then he comes back into my life, and that secret starts dropping little hints all over the place, until it did its big reveal last night." Madeline wasn't sure how well she explained it. The truth way, Madeline wasn't sure how well she understood it herself. "I didn't realize I'd been saving myself for Elijah until I had him back."
Her mom gave her a nod as she slid yet another side dish in the fridge, then went and sat next to her. After she ran her fingers through her shoulder-length brown hair, that hand fell against hers. "You were saving yourself for true love, and your true love was always Elijah. Maybe your head didn't know that, but it's always been in your heart. Hell, before Elijah's mother passed, her and I would always joke about being in-laws.
"The sort of love you two have for one another... all it took was time apart for it to evolve into what it was destined to be. And make no mistake, you and Elijah were destined. Maybe it was just a fun little possibility before, but it became a certainty the moment he stepped back into your life.
"Most people never find this sort of love, Maddie. That respect, communication, protectiveness, the bond, understand, patience. The list goes on and one. The biggest thing? Sacrifice, which he's done in spades. You brought him so much happiness, but he gave that up so you wouldn't be dragged down by that darkness that was stirring in him. He needed to free himself of that before he could let himself be a part of your life again.
"They make finding love into this cute story in the movies, but that long list? That's what a love story for the ages is made of. That's what the two of you have. Or will. It's fate, kiddo."