time.”
A look of defeat coated Max’s weary face. As AJ looked over his friend from head to toe, he saw the remorse painted across the man’s entire physique. Max reeked of sorrow. He had no doubt about his friend’s immense guilt. His mind told him to reach out but his heart simply wouldn’t let him.
“Okay,” Max said.
Resigned to the notion that nothing would ever be the same for the duo, he raised his hands up in surrender, backing towards the town. Defeat coated his entire appearance.
After Max disappeared out of view, AJ went back to his room in the B&B. Helen greeted him on his way through the kitchen, taking him by surprise.
“Good morning,” she said.
Her usual smile plastered across a miniature face. It looked so tiny compared to the rest of her plump, southern-fed body. She was a beautiful and classy lady who simply commanded respect from the sheer sight of her.
“Max told me what happened to Addie.”
AJ shot his glance to her abruptly, halting in mid-stride. It took him a moment to realize she meant she knew the lie about what happened to Addie.
“Poor girl,” she continued, shaking her head. “Must have been quite a bump. Forgot everything, did she?”
“That’s what they say,” AJ replied somewhat coldly.
How many times would he have to relive this story? Relive what happened? Relive the fact that she was not going to remember him?
“Even you?” She eyed him up and down for a response. “You can’t fool me boy – I know how you feel about her. It’s not a secret.”
“Well, she doesn’t know anymore. I think it will be a lot simpler for everyone if we keep it that way.”
His words were less of a statement and more of a demand. Helen picked up on the animosity in his tired voice and let the topic drop. She imagined he was feeling quite hurt and sad over the entire thing, and deemed it best to let it go.
“If you say so.”
“I do.”
As he started walking again, the guilt crept in. This wasn’t the man he was raised to be – cruel to everyone he encountered. He wasn’t a bad guy; just a heartbroken one.
“I’m sorry, Helen. You don’t deserve to be treated that way. You don’t deserve that type of pain in your life.”
“Neither do you, honey. Come here and sit down.”
He paused but quickly caved, knowing she’d never give in. Slinking over to the chair, he sat down.
Helen sat across from him . Momentarily, he thought back to when she’d shared the story of her son over the same table. She was a woman of both great depth and great wisdom.
“I’m not going to let you give in, AJ. If you care about her, why would you just let that go?”
“It’s not as simple as that Helen.”
“Son, life is often as simple as that. But we go and think things to death and create problems that never existed in the first place, because we don’t know how to just let things be simple. You love her and that’s as simple as it gets.”
“I wish it were that simple, Helen, I really do. I know you’re trying to help, but there’s so much more that I just don’t want to talk about.”
“Well I’m here if you need me. For what it’s worth, I think you’re making a big mistake. Chances to be happy don’t come around often in life. You've got to take ’em when they show up. And the last few months, when that girl’s around, you look like a chance just showed up.”
She winked at him and waved him off before they both started crying.
As he locked the bedroom door and slid down the wooden barrier to the world, he couldn’t help but wonder what hurt worse: that Addie and he would never be together, or that she would never remember what they’d had in the first place.
She was indeed the lucky one, he thought . He’d have to remember everything about her for as long as he lived.
And that, as a Healer, was bound to be a very long time.
7 LOST AND FOUND
“I’ll be back in a day,” Matthew reassured her, sweetly kissing Helen on the cheek as he had
A look of defeat coated Max’s weary face. As AJ looked over his friend from head to toe, he saw the remorse painted across the man’s entire physique. Max reeked of sorrow. He had no doubt about his friend’s immense guilt. His mind told him to reach out but his heart simply wouldn’t let him.
“Okay,” Max said.
Resigned to the notion that nothing would ever be the same for the duo, he raised his hands up in surrender, backing towards the town. Defeat coated his entire appearance.
After Max disappeared out of view, AJ went back to his room in the B&B. Helen greeted him on his way through the kitchen, taking him by surprise.
“Good morning,” she said.
Her usual smile plastered across a miniature face. It looked so tiny compared to the rest of her plump, southern-fed body. She was a beautiful and classy lady who simply commanded respect from the sheer sight of her.
“Max told me what happened to Addie.”
AJ shot his glance to her abruptly, halting in mid-stride. It took him a moment to realize she meant she knew the lie about what happened to Addie.
“Poor girl,” she continued, shaking her head. “Must have been quite a bump. Forgot everything, did she?”
“That’s what they say,” AJ replied somewhat coldly.
How many times would he have to relive this story? Relive what happened? Relive the fact that she was not going to remember him?
“Even you?” She eyed him up and down for a response. “You can’t fool me boy – I know how you feel about her. It’s not a secret.”
“Well, she doesn’t know anymore. I think it will be a lot simpler for everyone if we keep it that way.”
His words were less of a statement and more of a demand. Helen picked up on the animosity in his tired voice and let the topic drop. She imagined he was feeling quite hurt and sad over the entire thing, and deemed it best to let it go.
“If you say so.”
“I do.”
As he started walking again, the guilt crept in. This wasn’t the man he was raised to be – cruel to everyone he encountered. He wasn’t a bad guy; just a heartbroken one.
“I’m sorry, Helen. You don’t deserve to be treated that way. You don’t deserve that type of pain in your life.”
“Neither do you, honey. Come here and sit down.”
He paused but quickly caved, knowing she’d never give in. Slinking over to the chair, he sat down.
Helen sat across from him . Momentarily, he thought back to when she’d shared the story of her son over the same table. She was a woman of both great depth and great wisdom.
“I’m not going to let you give in, AJ. If you care about her, why would you just let that go?”
“It’s not as simple as that Helen.”
“Son, life is often as simple as that. But we go and think things to death and create problems that never existed in the first place, because we don’t know how to just let things be simple. You love her and that’s as simple as it gets.”
“I wish it were that simple, Helen, I really do. I know you’re trying to help, but there’s so much more that I just don’t want to talk about.”
“Well I’m here if you need me. For what it’s worth, I think you’re making a big mistake. Chances to be happy don’t come around often in life. You've got to take ’em when they show up. And the last few months, when that girl’s around, you look like a chance just showed up.”
She winked at him and waved him off before they both started crying.
As he locked the bedroom door and slid down the wooden barrier to the world, he couldn’t help but wonder what hurt worse: that Addie and he would never be together, or that she would never remember what they’d had in the first place.
She was indeed the lucky one, he thought . He’d have to remember everything about her for as long as he lived.
And that, as a Healer, was bound to be a very long time.
7 LOST AND FOUND
“I’ll be back in a day,” Matthew reassured her, sweetly kissing Helen on the cheek as he had
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