Page 37 of Falling for my First Crush

Maia laughs. “Duh,” she says. “Anyone could have told you that. It’s been obvious since you got back.”

“It has?” I say. “That’s news to me.”

“Another ‘duh’,” Maia says with a laugh. “No offense, Joe, but you’ve never been the most perceptive person. I’ll give you a third ‘duh,’ so you don’t have to wonder. Jackie is clearly in love with you, too, so if I were you, I would go for it.”

“Seriously? She is, Maia? You’re not kidding me? You really think I should go for it?” I sputter, shocked at this whole turn of the conversation.

“Oh my gosh, yes, Joe! Get off the phone and go find Jackie already!” Maia commands, with an exasperated laugh.

So I do. Jackie’s standing on the edge of the dinner tent, watching the activity unfolding in front of her. She looks beautiful, and I feel my breath hitch in my chest. How could I have not seen this until now? All the signs were there, pointing me in this direction, but I was so busy living in the past, that I couldn’t see them. I’ve wasted too much time. Now, I’m going to act.

I stride over to her. She smiles when she sees me; actually, her whole being seems to light up. That’s for me. How could I not have seen this? “You were so great, Joe,” she says.

“Jackie?” I say.

Her brow knits with concern. “Yes, Joe?”

“I love you,” I say.

“You…what did you just say?” she asks.

I take a step closer. “I love you,” I repeat. “It’s been right in front of me this whole time, but I was too dumb to realize it. I’m in love with you.”

Jackie gasps. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my whole life,” I say.

“Oh, Joe, I love you too,” she says, her eyes shining. “I have, really, since the day I met you, way back when.”

I gape at her in disbelief, but I don’t wait for long before I close the gap between us and pull her in close for a kiss. As our lips meet, I realize that this is exactly where I am meant to be.

Epilogue

JACKIE

“Was that Sabina?” Joe asks as he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close, kissing my cheek. I slip my phone back in my pocket so I can wrap both of my arms back around him.

“Mmmhmm,” I reply, closing my eyes to savor the moment. Every morning when I wake up, I still can’t believe this is my reality.

Gidget barks, breaking the spell of the moment. We both laugh, and turn in sync to pet her. She gets jealous if we leave her out of the affection. She has accepted me wholeheartedly, and I can’t believe how much I love having a dog. Especially this spunky little gal. I can’t believe a lot of things in my current reality.

“How is Sabina doing today?” Joe asks.

From his tone, I can tell that he’s worried. Sabina has had her ups and downs over the past year, but currently she is in a downward cycle. She goes to the hospital faithfully every week, so I still hope that she will get out of the cycle.

“About the same,” I say.

“I know they’re going to roll out the new ‘Holistic Hero Vet Program’ that’s been in the works for a while now… I’m so excited about it, Jack! What an incredible idea! From the massages and float therapy, to the red light therapy, mindset training, and small group collaborations, I am amazed at every angle they’re approaching things from. I really hope Sabina will take advantage of it.”

“I know, so do I. I think she’s open to it, Joe. I think it will be huge for her… we just need to be supportive and patient. Once she chooses to do it, though, I think it will be a huge part of her healing. They have done so much intentional work getting it together and finding the best of the best to lead each part of the program. I can’t believe how much money was raised for the program! We made quite a team, didn’t we, babe? With much help from Violet and Robert, and the community, of course… No wonder the hospital is already asking for a date to do it again next year! So… you game for it?”

“Are you kidding? Getting to do that all over again, this time with my wife… You don’t have to ask a second time!”

Joe pulls me in close for tender hug. “Do you want me to start the grill now? Or wait until all your friends get here?”

We are having the Lits and their husbands over for dinner tonight. It’s the first time any of my friends will be at my new house since Joe and I got married two months ago. I kept trying to schedule a little housewarming party, but something always seemed to come up. Coupled with my work schedule and Joe’s work schedule, it’s been extremely hard to find the right time to get together. But we finally nailed tonight down for the whole group.

“Let’s wait until they get here,” I say.

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