I glanced back at Mirabella before closing the door. I stared at the photo of us as I walked back into the living room. Cass jumped up, concern flashing in her eyes.
“Em, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” she reached up and smoothed the tears away with her thumbs. I handed her the picture.
“I remember this. Cass, the night he proposed, I remember,” I sobbed.
“Shh, why are you crying then, you dick? Isn’t it a good thing?” she asked softly, chuckling.
“I love him so much, I can’t stand the thought of not having him with me,” I wept. Cass handed me my phone.
“Tell him that, Em, not me.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Simon
The vibration of my phone woke me up. I was surprised I’d even fallen asleep, I must have been more tired than I thought. Reaching my arm out for the phone, I brought it level with my eyes and struggled to make out the message.
Fuck, it was from Em.
Are you awake?
I dialed her number, she answered right away.
“Do you remember the first night we ever spoke?” she asked.
“I remember what a psycho I was, calling you in the middle of the night,” I answered, cringing at the memory.
“Yeah, I’m surprised that didn’t scare me off, actually,” she chuckled. She was laughing. Laughing was good, god I loved her laugh.
“I love you Em. You know that, right?” I asked softly. She sighed, as if she were gathering her thoughts.
“I do know that,” she began, “I was in watching Mirabella sleep tonight and I saw the photos of us on the drawers. The one of us, after you proposed? I looked at it and I remembered. I remember that night. I remember that you put the bed out there and we slept under the stars, I remember the love I felt for you when you slipped that ring onto my finger.”
“That’s great news, Em,” It really was. It was only one memory, but it was a good sign that they were still in there somewhere.
“I’m sorry Simon, it’s just the thought of another woman kissing you… It drives me crazy. I have issues with trust and I think a big part of that is me trusting that your feelings will always be there.”
“Are you crazy? You have no idea how crazy in love with you I am. I can’t even imagine you not being in my life. When I found you lying there, unconscious…that was the worst moment of my life. I can’t tell you how much you mean to me.”
“Will you come home?”
“I’m actually out at my mom’s. I took Maddie up here for a few days to clear my head. And I felt bad about not spending much time with her lately.”
“Okay, well I can’t wait to see you,” she said softly, “and Mirabella misses her daddy too.”
“Is Cass still staying with you? I don’t want you there on your own.”
“Yes, she said she’ll stay till you get back.”
“Okay, good. Em?” I asked
“Yeah?”
“Love you,” I smiled.
The following day we g
ot up early to go with mom to some flea markets, which Maddie was ecstatic about. Maddie loved anything that involved sifting through junk and finding hidden treasures. When she was little, she would bury her toys in her sandpit just so she could ‘find’ them.