I Can Fix That

“I’m so sorry I left for so long, but it was exactly what I needed. You make me be the man I want to be, and no matter how hard I tried to push you away, inevitably, I knew you were always meant to be mine.”

I stayed silent. I couldn’t find it in my voice to let anything out.

“Come on, Hart. Talk to me.” I was still stuck in place. I had yet to move, and our bodies were so close I still felt like this was a dream.

“Is it really you?” My voice choked up, and if I didn’t touch him soon, I’d start crying.

“It’s me, honey. I’m sorry I took so long, but I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. You were right; I needed time to grieve. I am back, and I’ll never leave again.” I didn’t waste another second to touch him. I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest. My shoulders began to shake as tears rolled down my cheek, and I sniffled.

“Where have you been?”

He twirled my thin hair between his fingers.

“So much has happened. I don’t really know where to begin. You know me, I’ve never been very good with words.” He chuckled roughly against me. I pulled away so I could take a look at his face. He looked like my Grant still, but there was something different about him now. He seemed free.

“I have something for you.”

He pulled away from me and turned to the island countertop. There was a stack of envelopes tied together by a piece of rope and a carabiner.

I sniffled and wiped the wet tears off my cheeks.

“I’ve been writing to you while I was gone. I wanted to mail them, but I knew if I ever made contact with you, I would drive home immediately.”

I looked down at the stack of letters in his hands. There had to be at least a hundred of them.

“I don’t know what to say…” my mind was frazzled, and I still felt convinced I was in a dream.

“You don’t have to say anything. Read them all if you want. The only one I need you to read the most is the one on top. Then you can decide if you want this to work between us.”

“I don’t need to decide anything. I know it can work.”

He lifted his strong hands to my rosy cheeks and rubbed them with his thumbs. “You might change your mind when you’re done reading it. I just need you to know without any other obstacles in the way that you want everything with me.”

I nodded my head yes as if I had the chance of telling him no right now.

He gave me the letters and I went straight home, this time sure to text him I had arrived safely.