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Three long and torturous days passed—every second drags like a knife across my heart. Nick never came to me. It both breaks my heart and infuriates me, even though I basically told him to leave me alone. Flinching, my words play over again in my mind.
I told him to take the job!
What was I thinking?
Why did I have to behave like such a crybaby?
I was so angry, but with each passing moment, my anger grows less and the intensity of my sorrow increases. I can’t stand anything. I can’t eat, barely sleep, although I stay in bed all day, and tears come at the most unexpected moments.
Life seems pointless if I can’t be with Nick.
I couldn’t even rejoice when the call came telling me that I’m officially divorced from Branson and free to move on.
It doesn’t matter. I’m every bit a prisoner now as I was while married to Branson. When will I finally be free? Will I ever have love?
Nick’s stupid manly pride overpowers our love. It doesn’t make sense—we aren’t living in the stone ages. People cross social barriers all the time. The thing is, you either want to be with someone or you don’t, and he clearly doesn’t.
Maybe he was lonely and just needed something, but he made me fall for him. He awakened something inside me and then turned his back on it, leaving me to suffer in the ruins of a shattered heart.
Well, I won’t have it. I won’t spend a single moment more with someone who messes with my heart. Life’s too short, although at the moment, each second away from Nick seems like an eternity.
Ugh!
The yo-yo of emotions drains me to the point of exhaustion.
It’s in this moment that I feel a different longing in my soul—the need to open myself up to the universe. Forcing myself out of bed, I shower and dress in a linen sundress.
Tonight, I’ll gaze upon the heavens. It’s exactly what I need. The sky is clear, and in a few minutes, I’ll be standing beneath a blanket of stars, and Orion. It’s the only thing that can ease my mind and perhaps help me forget the loneliness that plagues my soul.
I arrive at my usual spot and set up, but a nearby rustling in the grass, grabs my attention before I have a chance to gaze into the eyepiece.
I know it’s him. Irritated, I spin, prepared to lose it but soften the moment I see him. I literally don’t have the strength to argue. Not with him.
My head tilts slightly as I arch an expectant eyebrow.
“I came back for you,” he says, walking towards me. Noting the look of confusion on my face he adds, “after the phone call.”
My eyes widen. “What? When? I didn’t see you.”
“I saw you, getting married to Branson. I watched, and I knew you didn’t want it—it was all over your face, but I let you go.” His voice cracks with emotion.
His words gut me.
Tears fall, pouring from my eyes like a fountain. He came back, had I known...
Wait.
He loves me. The realization takes my breath away. I try to speak, but a sob escapes instead. He pulls me into his arms, holding me as he continues to shatter my wall.
“When I graduated, I took the job with Old Man Carson, so I could be close to you—keep an eye on you. I needed to know you were ok.” I pull back and look into his eyes, stunned.
His words, they’re everything I never knew I needed to hear. “You do love me.” It pops from my mouth and sounds needy, desperate, but quite frankly I am, desperate for him.
He laughs. “I’ve loved you all along, Zeta. It’s been killing me, knowing you have all this, and I have nothing to offer you.”
I place a hand on his chest and look him dead on. “This is everything I want.”
The space around us suddenly gets brighter and I note several workers with lanterns walking towards us. Stepping back, I watch them appear from the orchard, one by one, and form a semi-circle around us. Confused, I glance at each worker, trying to figure out their intentions. Relief washes over me as I note the looks on their faces. They aren’t hostile, they’re happy, but I don’t understand why. And what’s with the lanterns? No one uses lanterns anymore.
I turn, taking them all in, wondering what they want, when Pastor Rogers, appears next, dressed in his white Sunday robe. I spin back to Nick who beams—it warms my soul and more tears spring from my eyes as he drops to his knees before me, taking my trembling hands in his.
“The only way to make this right is for you to be my wife, my partner, my equal.” Nick smiles, looking into my eyes.
A sob escapes my lips. “Nick...” I’m lost for words.
“I love you, Zeta, and I can’t bear another second on this earth without you by my side. I can’t be without you again, so let’s do this right.”
I kneel to his level and nod as he pulls me into his embrace. So many questions enter my mind, but none of them matter. I’m going to marry this man and never look back.
From behind us, James speaks up, and I turn in his direction. “We pulled some strings to get the license and Nick asked that I draw up a pre-nup in preparation of your marriage. All you have to do is sign, and you and your farm will be safe.”
The fact that Nick went to James for help blows my mind. He thought of everything.
He truly loves me.
It’s all like a dream, and I never want to wake from it.
Knowing that I’ll never divorce this man, I turn my gaze back to Nick and shake my head. “No, I won’t need it...” I laugh, so happy it seems unreal, but I’ve got forever in my arms, nothing else matters.
“You have to sign, Zeta. I won’t have you any other way.” He needs me to know that it isn’t my land or money he’s after. He wants me.
Nodding, I rise, taking Nick with me, and sign the papers.
Then Nick leads me to Pastor Rogers, who stands next to my telescope. Rigel bounces over and takes his place between us, his big dopey face scanning from Nick to me as if he’s telling us, “it’s about time.”
Hand in hand, we say our vows under a blanket of perfectly aligned stars, and I swear, I can feel Mamma and Daddy smiling down on us.
∞ ∞ ∞