even though his entrance was slow and gentle.
He ran a hand over my cheek, then tucked my hair behind my ear. I had loved him for so long, but in that moment I had never felt a love so consuming of my mind, body and soul.
Everything about it was perfect.
His breath tickled my ear as he leaned in close and whispered, “This time I promise. I will never let go.”
Absolute perfection.
Zach’s chest rose and fell with each sleeping breath. I stretched out beside him, taking my head from his chest and resting it on my hand.
It had taken us so long to get to this spot, and I wanted to savor it, remember every single moment leading into it, during and after. I didn’t want to sleep because I didn’t want the night to end.
He stirred beside me and squinted one eye open. “Hey,” he said, lip quirking up in that sexy way.
“Hey.”
“Why are you all the way over there?”
“Just thinking about stuff.”
He rolled on his side, mirroring me. “What kind of stuff?”
“Just stuff.”
“Is that so?” he said, reaching out and flipping me underneath him. His fingers worked at my side, tickling until I was squirming under him, laughing.
“You. I was thinking about you!” I yelled out.
“All good stuff I hope.”
I nodded, his hands stopped, and because I no longer had to resist the urge, I lifted up and kissed him.
“Mmm,” he said. “Confirmation.”
I laughed against his lips and then bit my own. I let out a deep breath. “Do you think if you hadn’t stopped calling, we’d still be together?”
Zach sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’d like to think we would’ve been, but at the same time, I wouldn’t change anything. I think it all happened the way it was supposed to.”
“You do?”
“I do. So no regrets. The past is just that. The past. You and me—we’re the future. Let’s not look back.”
He was right, to an extent. For so long I had dreamed of being in his arms like things never changed. Now I knew how silly that was. Things changed. And no matter what we did, we couldn’t go back. But why would I want to? Everything that happened had brought me to this moment, and like Zach said, I wouldn’t change a single thing.
“Nope,” I said, sitting up and crossing my legs underneath me.
“Are you going to hold it over me for the rest of our lives?”
“Of course not. It’s just that, some things in our past are worth remembering.” I stood, my eyes roaming over his chest, following his Ken doll lines right to the blanket that barely covered him. I slipped his shirt over my head, and knelt beside the bed, pulling out my Zach box.
He eyed it curiously and then a surprised smile stretched across his face as he saw the pictures.
I took the top off and placed it in front of Zach. “These memories, I’ve held on to them because I never want to forget them.”
He took the tiny bear in his hands and shook his head. “For the amount of money I spent to win you this thing, I could’ve bought you twenty of them.”
“But then it wouldn’t have been as special.” I grabbed it out of his hand and hugged it to my chest.
He reached in the box and held up the bobber. “I can’t believe you saved this.”
“It was a good day.”
“The best.”
“And that’s why I don’t want to forget the past.”
He kissed my nose and pulled back. “Okay. No forgetting.” His hand went in the box and when he pulled it out he revealed the plastic bubble. He popped the top off and took out the frog key chain, taking my hand in his. The frog swayed as he took my hand and slid it on my finger. “Lizzie, I promise to always love you. Always be there for you. And always find a way to make you laugh.”
A tear fell down my cheek and happiness overtook my face. “You remembered.”
“When it comes to you, I can’t forget anything.” His finger swiped away my tear and he leaned forward, my breath hitching at his proximity. Would I ever get used to that? “But something’s missing.”
“What do you mean?”
He reached towards my nightstand and held the note he’d written me only hours earlier. “This.” The folded piece of paper fell into the box and dark eyes looked up at me. “Now we can start working on our future.”
I jumped up, tackling him to the bed, more than ready to start today, tomorrow and the rest of time making memories together.
Chapter 25
Mimi sat in the gazebo, a canvas in front of her and a paintbrush in her hand. The sight sent me back to high school, when Zach and I used to sit and watch as she turned a blank canvas into a beautiful landscape.
I didn’t know she still painted. It made me smile.
I got out of the car and walked up the gazebo steps. I had dropped Zach off earlier on my way to my parents’ house to see Josh.
Mimi put her paintbrush down and turned to me. If she was having a bad day, she wouldn’t know who I was. I didn’t want to confuse her any further.
“Hi. I’m Liz, Zach’s friend,” I said with a wave.
She cocked an eyebrow in my direction. “I know who you are. What, do you think I’m senile or something?”
“Not at all, Mimi. It’s good to see you again.” And it was. Though I didn’t know if she understood the magnitude of my words.
“Come sit down. I was just finishing up.”
I sat in the white wicker rocking chair beside her easel. The canvas was still white. I wondered how long she had been sitting out there. She said she was finishing up, but she hadn’t even started. I wanted to cry for all she’d lost, but I pushed it aside.
“It’s a beautiful day. A little chilly though. Zach just went in to grab my sweater,” she said and walked past me, grabbing the blank canvas. I waited for her to turn and walk out of the gazebo, but she went to the other side of her chair and picked up another canvas.
This canvas was a gorgeous landscape. It was as if she took a picture of the scene in front of her and placed it there. I was wrong. She hadn’t lost herself at all. Somewhere deep inside, she still existed.
“It is an amazing day,” I said, as she moved towards the stairs. I walked behind her, ready to help if she needed, and looked out across the lawn. My face lit up the minute I spotted him.
“Zach! Lizzie is here,” she called as she made her way towards him.
I didn’t correct her, not because I felt guilty correcting a woman who suffered from dementia, but because being called Lizzie didn’t bother me anymore.
Zach smiled as he approached and draped Mimi’s sweater over her shoulders. “Heading in?” he asked.
“It’s almost dinnertime. If I don’t get there early enough, Bertha steals all the rolls. Puts them right in her pocketbook like no one knows it’s her.”
Zach and I laughed and he slid his hand into mine. “How’s Josh?” he whispered into my ear.
“He’s doing good,” I said, and he kissed my nose.
We made sure Mimi was settled before saying our goodbyes.
