“Where would you like me to drop you off?” The man asks.
I attempt to clean off my oxford shoes and then hop into the man’s rusty, white Chevy truck. Mud still attached to the fenders after last night’s rain.
“Sorry about the mud. The market in the next town will work.”
“It’s no problem. A little dirt doesn’t hurt,” he says as he smirks. He looks over and asks, “You doin’ alright?”
He is good man. I could see it in his eyes. The light green within them reminded me of hers. His very presence brings my uneasy soul to temporary peace. I clear the knot in my throat for a second and say, “Yeah. I’m good. I appreciate the concern but I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Alright.” He responds.
It was ten minutes until we hit Fillmore but one minute in that truck felt like an eternity. I stare at the same spot without blinking, trying to piece the life I used to have back together. The blue on the dashboard is faded appearing almost a greenish color with a crack near the bottom of the glove compartment in the shape of a J. No matter what I do, I’m always reminded me of her. How did I not notice? Could I be so blind? All I can think about is the pain I seen in her eyes. Those beautiful eyes in such despair- calling for help. I’ve seen her cry before but this was different. It was agony in those eyes. The more I thought about it, hurt me more every second, until the pain seeped through. Dripping from my face onto the hands.
“I’m familiar with a lot of things in this world and I know heartache when I see it. It looks like your trying to deal with this on your own so I’ll keep it short. The only thing I will say to you is this- love hard, forgive often, never regret anything that brings you happiness, and fight like hell to keep it.”
Focusing on his coarse voice as the words came out of his mouth, brought clarity to my chaotic mind. He pulls into the market parking lot and the brakes screech as he comes to a stop. I step out and say, “Thank you. For everything.”
“No problem, Kid. One last thing; never wait too long to make things right. Alright, I’m out of guru quotes now… Take care, Kid.”
He drives off, leaving behind the smell of cheap cologne and exhaust. I walk to the bench near the market and sit down. This is where it all began, I thought. A car pulls up and parks right in front of me. I look up as she steps out and I run to her. I grab her and hold her with all of my might.
The tears pour from my face uncontrollably as we both cry. After a moment, we calm ourselves. I look at her and say, “I didn’t mean to leave you there, Jes. I just… didn’t know what to do. So I came to the only place that has ever made sense.”
“I knew this is where you’d come. The bench where we shared our first kiss all those years ago. We would have never thought that this is where we would be today…” She continues, “I meant to tell you earlier, Ross. I was waiting for the right time to surprise you and before I had the chance to I… I had already lost the baby.” Jes puts her head down, bringing her shaky hands to cover her mouth from letting out a gasp. She takes a breath to compose herself and says, “I didn’t mean to say no to you either, Ross. I love you and I hope you know that, but I’m just so overwhelmed and confused.”
“Jes, I’m just as confused as you are. I’m not mad that you said no and that you didn’t tell me about it earlier, I’m just disappointed that I didn’t notice. I should’ve been there for you.” I grab her hands. “This whole situation is so confusing, but one day I hope we can look back at this moment and know that we made it through- together. I don’t know what else life has in store for us but good or bad, I know that I want you with me through it all. So… Jes.” I kneel and ask, “Will you, please, marry me?”
“Yes!”
-Jonas Cardona