“She'll die,” he finished. I nodded, and he looked at me. He really looked at me. “I've been where you are, only, I had nothing to really offer my wife. She had breast cancer, and the only way for her to survive was to have a double mastectomy.”
I stopped, and watched as he smiled slightly. I felt like he knew exactly what I was feeling.
“She was only forty-five. She was afraid I wouldn't find her attractive anymore. I told her I would love her through it. I'd never stop loving her. She eventually had the surgery, and I've held true to my promise. Because what she looks like doesn't matter to me. I love her. Her soul, her essence, my Rosemary, and I think that's how you love that lovely girl inside.”
“No one has ever said something more true,” I told him, and we finished the hay.
♥
We went in and ate, and after a while, we took our showers and got ready for bed. I just laid there and held Julie, and thought about Mrs. Rosemary, and Mr. Harrison.
One day, I wanted Julie and I to be like them.
♥
The tow truck brought our truck to Mr. Harrison's house. We packed up again, and while Liam and Julie were busy blowing up the air mattress, and Hilary and Mrs. Rosemary were busy instructing them how, I handed a slip of paper to the old man.
“What's this?” he asked.
“My phone number,” I told him. “I know it might sound weird, but the best part of our trip has been meeting you and Mrs. Rosemary. I don't want to lose contact, so if you call that number, I'll always answer.”
He smiled, and then he hugged me.
And then we left, bound to Louisiana.
♥
“Julie, marry me?” I asked, looking at her.
Julie raised a brow. “Falon, I'm dying.”
“Yeah, well, I'm ugly. We all have our problems.”
She smiled, and then started to laugh as she shook her head. “I'm not going to marry you at a drive thru,” she told me, kicking her feet up on my dashboard. Her sparkling purple nail polish glittered against the sunlight.
“Then where? Where will you marry me, Julie Michaels?” I asked her, and watched as she shrugged.
“Las Vegas.”
I laughed this time. “So, no drive thru, but Vegas is okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes. And I want to be married by Elvis, of course. And, if you could get Marilyn to come to my wedding, that would be great,” she said, and laughed.
“And Batman?”
“Of course!” she said immediately, turning toward me with a wide smile. “You have to have Batman at your wedding. It's a crime not to have Batman,” she told me, and we both began to laugh.
The guy at the window probably thought we were the crazy folks as he handed us our bag and drinks, but that was okay. Hearing Julie's laugh was something that I would take the crazy look for.
I drove away from the place, and looked out the corner of my eye to see Julie drinking the vanilla milkshake. Her head clean of hair, covered by the red bandana. Her green eyes the brightest that I had seen them all morning, and a small smile on her face. She was happy.
“So, Vegas, Elvis, Marilyn, and Batman. Then, you'll marry me?”
Julie smiled, and then shrugged slightly. “What girl could refuse an offer like that?”
♥
We were sitting in front of my mother's house a few hours later. I stared at the small apartment door, knowing she was sitting behind it. I had no doubt that she was inside.
Julie reached over and touched my hand. When I looked at her, she w as smiling. “It'll be okay. I'll be there with you,” she told me.
I nodded, though I still wasn't sure. Still, I got out, and I came around the front of the truck. I took Julie's hand as we made our way up to the door.
For a moment, I stared at the door, and my anger boiled. I thought I might snap. And come completely unhinged. If that happened, everything would suddenly turn to crap, and nothing would have been worth it.
But I lifted my hand, and I knocked against that door, and my breathing got labored as I waited for the woman who had burned me to open the door. I waited to see the woman who had given birth to me, raised me, and then decided to dispose of me.
I wanted to see the face of the woman who destroyed my life.
When the door finally opened, my heart was racing, and my knees were shaking, and I knew I was afraid. I was scared out of my wits, and I wasn't sure if I could do it, even with Julie standing by my side, I wasn't sure that I could do this.
Because everything had been so bad after she had tried to kill. My life had been horrible and I didn't think I was going to make it. I was sure that I would kill myself before I turned eighteen. I was sure that I would be gone, and this pain would be over.
But, God had a way of changing everything, and flipping it on it's head.
When my mother opened the door, I saw her. I s aw the woman that had been imprisoned for five years. She was in front of me, flesh and blood, and she recognized who I was right away. I could see it in her eyes, the ones that darted back and forth.
“I don't think you should be here,” she said immediately. Her eyes were moving sporadically, her hand reaching up to close her sweater as if she was revealing something.
Julie smiled softly, leaning over
