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Cold sweat beaded on Sadie’s forehead and her hands felt clammy. “I should start from the beginning. Zack and I applied for this show three years ago. We were on vacation with his best friends and all of us sent in applications. When the show called and offered me a slot, I jumped on it, hoping to win the money. Dread and relief swamped me when I saw Zack on the other side of the curtain the first day. Relief because I knew we would be competitive. Dread because I didn’t want to discuss why we separated.”
She quickly glanced at him. His expression remained solemn and his jaw tight.
“So we agreed we wouldn’t discuss our private lives during the competition. I listened to the others talk about their problems, and I sympathized. Everyone’s story is unique and difficult. While trying to understand what everyone was dealing with, it made me examine my relationship with Zack.” She walked over to him and grabbed his hand. “Thank you. Thank you for everything you did. Everything I couldn’t. You stayed sane in an insane situation.”
“You don’t have to do this,” he urged again, squeezing her hand.
“I do. For you. For me. And for Dylan.”
She kissed him softly and returned to the stage. “We went to the same grade school, then Zack moved away the year we started high school. I didn’t see him again until we both attended Texas State. From then on we were together. Falling in love with Zack was so easy. Our relationship was what poets write about. Well, happy poets.”
The crowd laughed.
“Two and a half years ago, I gave birth to our darling baby boy at thirty-seven weeks when I had a placental abruption.” She inhaled and sighed. “My bleeding wouldn’t stop, so I was rushed to surgery for an emergency hysterectomy. When I woke, I wanted to be sad I wouldn’t have other children but couldn’t be. Dylan was perfect.”
Zack hung his head, no doubt dreading her next words.
Every camera from the show was filming. Three pointed at her, two at Zack, and the others at the people in the crowd.
“A little over six months ago, Dylan fell asleep in Zack’s lap, and we put him to bed like every night. When I went in to check on him before I turned in, I found him not breathing. I performed CPR until paramedics arrived and put him on a respirator. Once they got him to the hospital and evaluated him, the doctors explained Dylan had gone without oxygen for too long.” She swallowed hard. “There was little to no brain activity.”
Beside her, Gemini whispered, “Oh, no.”
“He’d suffered a pediatric aneurysm. I refused to believe it since he hadn’t hit his head or suffered a fever or acted like he felt bad the days before.” The hollow feeling from the place that used to radiate so much joy in her heart still ached, but much less the last few days. “We stayed at his side day and night.”
Zack still hadn’t lifted his head.
“I insisted more doctors be brought in on Dylan’s case. The hospital staff, bless them, did everything I asked. I researched specialists and brought many in from all over the world—a couple who we could only communicate with through interpreters. I became a crazed fool and spent a fortune on doctors, flights, and hotel rooms. Every report stated Dylan couldn’t live without life-support.”
The contestants and crew stared at her, some with tear streaks on their cheeks.
“I’ll never forget his blond hair, so light it looked like a halo around his head.” Tears threatened. She cleared her throat and decided it would be better not to give more description. “Every day Zack brought up the subject of taking Dylan off life-support. I’d ignore him or lash out at him for even suggesting it. After a month, the doctors said we must make a decision. Let him go or take him home.” The fury she’d experienced at that moment, and so many times since, no longer rammed into her gut. “I wouldn’t listen to what they were saying. I left the room. That’s when Zack did the best thing for our little boy. He signed the papers to have Dylan taken off life-support.”
He lifted a hand to his face, no doubt wiping tears away.
“And I hated him for it.” She didn’t go into the next two days they’d spent with Dylan. Holding him, talking to him, telling him how much they loved him. “My only thought was he took my baby away. I mercilessly punished him. With every quiet, bitter moment I suffered, I wanted him to experience the same or worse.”
She put a hand to her heart. “It was so wrong of me. If I’d been in my right mind I’d never have reacted so severely, but grief consumed me. I moved to a friend’s house three weeks later, and we’ve been separated since.”
Gemini sniffed.
“Friends and family tried to talk to me. My standard answer became, ‘You’ll never understand. What can you possibly say that will help?’ How ugly of me. My husband and I are blessed with the sweetest parents and friends. The friend I moved in with, my best friend Cally, always stands firmly by my side. Zack has close friends who share an unbreakable bond, and they’d generously included me in their circle. When Dylan died, I pushed everyone away.” She directed her next comment at the camera. “I’ll ask each of you for forgiveness when I see you, and thank you for your support during our darkest hour.”
A deep breath later, she said, “Zack?”
She waited.
When he finally raised his head, his face and eyes were red.
She’d kept her composure this whole time, yet at seeing his tortured expression, it wavered. She fought to keep herself together as she continued. “The instant I heard your voice when you came to rescue me today, I realized I was no longer stuck because you were there. You are my way forward in this life. You always have been and you always will be. I have no right to ask, and if you refuse I’ll respect your decision, but I’m asking for another chance. I can’t promise I’ll always be sane. Yet, if Dylan’s life and death proved anything to me, it’s that I’ll always love you.”
Gemini, tears running down her face, ran over to him. “What do you say?”
His gaze had not left Sadie’s. He started toward her.
She stepped off the stage and met him halfway. He tenderly cupped her face and leaned toward her. She thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, he brushed his lips across her uninjured cheek and whispered soft enough that neither the microphones nor anyone else heard him say, “My life, my love, my reason for metamorphosis.”
A gut-bust laugh barked from her mouth. Absolute joy, like a ray of sunshine from Heaven, warmed her. She closed her eyes and let her tears flow. Not from sadness, not from despair.
From pure and utter love.
God, thank you for this man.
His lips captured hers. He picked her up and held her as they kissed. His unconditional love amazed her.
Her focus completely on Zack, she didn’t realize everyone was cheering until he broke the kiss and set her feet on the ground.
While she would forever miss Dylan, with Zack beside her, their life would be wonderful.
Gemini asked, “What did Zack tell you? We must know.”
Sadie only smiled. Those words had always been, and would always be, only for her.
The couples came toward them, led by Nanette and Floyd.
“It’s good to see you,” Sadie said as she hugged Nanette. “How did your children take the news of the baby?”
“They don’t know. We didn’t return home. After being checked out at a hospital, we’ve spent time vacationing on our way here.”
“How wonderful.”
Sadie embraced the other participants.
“No matter who wins...” Gemini clapped. “I think we can agree Zack and Sadie are the big winners this season. Before we go any further, we’d like to show clips of the people who contacted the show and suggested your names when the call for separated couples was sent out. We’ll use the other side of the trailer as a screen.”
Everyone rounded the trailer and sat on the ground.
The screen came to life with a photo of Nanette and Floyd on one side and three teenagers, who looked like Floyd, on the other. “Our children,” Floyd proudly cried out.
Brett and Kelly filled one side and the other side was another picture of Brett. Sitting close to them, Sadie saw Kelly turn her head and kiss Brett.
Uri and Lowell were next with two men and two women. “Our siblings.” Lowell’s voice sounded choked.
Matt and Karen split the screen with two young boys and an older woman. Matt exclaimed, “Our sons and my mother!”
Maxine and Jude’s picture was opposite three young people in their twenties. “Our children,” Jude explained.
Ted and Doreen flashed on one side and again on the other. They embraced.
Ruben and Tamara’s wedding picture opposed a photo of Tamara. Ruben’s excited “Whoop,” filled the air.
Heather and Ryan, dressed in camo, were sent in by a whole group of people. “Our families,” they both said.
Then Zack and Sadie’s photo flashed across from Cally, Dre, and Kasey. “Our friends,” Zack announced. He faced Sadie and chuckled. “You think Cally went to my friends, or they went to her?”
“I’ll wager Kasey learned about it since his show is on the same network as Chasing Sunsets, and he told them about it.”
“Okay, everyone,” a crew member called. “Please return to the finish area, and we’ll film the final clip.”
They headed back around the trailer, and the crew descended on them, handing out champagne glasses. They asked if each person preferred alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Sadie chose a non-alcoholic glass, not ready to drink again. She didn’t know if she ever would be. The clarity she’d gotten the last ten days, even during the agony of detox, was not something she wished to lose any time soon.
Zack took a non-alcoholic glass as well.
Camera workers documented everything.
“Zack.” Rueben hurried toward them. “Was that Andre Biel in your photo? Is he the one who convinced Snyder to help me?”
“Yeah.” Zack smiled. “Dre’s one of my best friends. We played high school football together.”
“Wow. What was that like?”
“Surreal.”
“I bet. We’ll talk.” Rueben stepped away to stand next to Tamara.
“Gemini, we’re ready,” someone yelled.
A young man from the show sped toward the stage with an envelope and stood off to the side.
The results.
Everyone’s attention turned to Gemini standing on the platform holding hands with her husband, Piers Ardoin. The gorgeous Parisian was a world-renowned professional soccer player.
“Three, two, one.”
“The results are in.” A radiant smile on her face, Gemini raised her glass. “I’d like to thank everyone who makes this show possible, from the competitors to the cleaning crew. None of this would happen without each of you. When I approached the producers with the idea of having split couples race, I feared they wouldn’t allow it. My own separation and reunion with my husband, Piers...” She glanced at him. “Compelled me to try. If we hadn’t been in a hospital waiting for news on a mutual friend who’d been in a car accident, we might never have worked through our problems. How tragic that would’ve been.”
Piers leaned down and kissed her.
Sadie moved closer to Zack, and he put his arms around her.
Gemini smiled. “The producers agreed to the premise as long as we found people willing to participate. So, to those who sent us the names of everyone here, thank you.”
A round of cheers went up.
She held up her glass. “Whether you get back together or decide to part permanently, I wish you happiness.”
“To happiness.” Everyone toasted.
Gemini motioned to the young man holding the envelope. He hurried toward her, and she handed him her glass and took the results. “Without further ado...” She tore open the envelope and read, “This year we have the closest results ever with three teams only ten minutes apart. The couple with the fastest time is ... Ted and Doreen.”
Cheers erupted.
“Love is old, love is new, love is all, love is you.” ~ The Beatles