A Rose in Bloom

He was surprised to find his face wet. “Yes, I know. I know that now. And I’m so sorry I left without even talking to you. Without at least making things right. I know you didn’t mean to spoil all our plans. But I was selfish. All I could think about was how the accident messed up my life. It was like my life and my future ended that day. I didn’t have any compassion for you at all… for how your life and future ended, too.”

“I know. It’s okay.”

Silence fell. Only the whisper of the wind broke his reverie.

“I need to let you go, Jessie. I need to let go of the hurt so I can move on. I need your forgiveness.”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I loved you before. I love you now. I always will.”

“Are you happy, Jessie? I’ve just got to know… I think maybe, if I could picture you being happy, I could let you go.”

“I’m happy.”

Jaxon shivered as a sudden gust of wind whipped under his jacket. “You’ll always have my heart, you know.”

He knelt and laid the daisies on the ground in front of the tombstone.

“I love you, Sis.”

Part 27: Discarded Rose

“G’MORNING, MACK. How was your trip, yesterday?” Nate unlocked the gym doors and stepped inside, holding the door open for Jaxon.

“Long and tiring, but I took care of something I’ve been putting off for a quite some time.”

“That’s great. I like the new you, Mack. You’re really taking care of business. When are you signing the papers on the new place?”

“It’s all contingent on selling this building, you know.”

“I know, but you’ve already got an offer, right? Isn’t it pretty much just paperwork now?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Jaxon stole a quick glance through the window.

“Oh no… I see you looking across the street at the flower shop again. You’re not having second thoughts are you? I thought you changed your mind about that building. Didn’t you say you wanted to get away from here?”

“I did, and I do. I really need to get away.” Jaxon resolved to stick to his plan. He needed to move the gym to a place where he wouldn’t be reminded of Elyssa every day. She wasn’t his responsibility, and she certainly didn’t want his advice.

“That’s good.” A relief-filled smile bloomed on Nate’s face. “Too bad you were gone yesterday. You missed seeing that flower shop girl.”

“Elyssa? Elyssa was here?” Jaxon’s resolve melted away as he felt his heart thumping in his chest.

“Yeah, she spent about two hours working out with Sadie.” Nate stepped on a treadmill and pushed the buttons, starting at a walking pace.

“Oh… did she… eh-hem… did she mention me?”

“As a matter of fact, she asked to talk to you. But we got it all worked out. She mentioned you’d offered a free trial week, so we honored it.”

“So she’s coming back again?” Jaxon tried to work up enough spit in his suddenly dry mouth to wet his parched throat.

“I guess so, unless Sadie scared her off. You know how over-enthusiastic she can be.” Nate turned the speed up to a slow jog. “The poor girl could barely move when she left here.”

Jaxon imagined the torture of watching Elyssa work out and felt his stomach churn as beads of sweat broke out on his face. “I don’t want to see her.”

“What?” Nate missed a step, catching himself on the arms of the treadmill and moving his feet to stand astride the rotating track. He punched the stop button and stepped off the machine, mumbling something unintelligible.

Jaxon turned to escape toward his office, but felt his arm grabbed from behind.

“What do you mean, you don’t want to see her? When did you see her? Have you two been secretly dating?”