Page 58 of A Seaside Escape
She slammed the door and waited for him to pull away. Once he was out of sight she took the urn and walked slowly over to the midpoint of the Atlantic Bridge and there she stood, with tears falling freely once again.
‘Oh, Sam. I’m so glad we didn’t know the future on that first day we stood here. It breaks my heart to think that this is how things ended up. But you loved it here so very much. And now a part of you will forever be part of this beautiful landscape.’ She reached into the urn and took half of the remaining ashes. Holding them aloft, she released her hold of them over the bridge and let them fly towards the ocean that had brought Sam to her in the first place.
One more location to go and that would mean a trip to Yorkshire.
*
Mallory arranged to visit Brad and Josie the following weekend. The urn was packed away in her bag and Ruby sat in the footwell of the passenger side fast asleep as they drove the long journey back to Yorkshire. It was strange to be back at Railway Terrace as a guest but she was happy to see that not much had changed since Josie and Brad bought the place. She dropped her bag in the guest room, freshened up and then Josie drove them into the centre of Leeds. It was nearing ten at night and the place was buzzing with city revellers taking advantage of the Leeds nightlife.
They walked up the precinct to the place where she had first fallen into Sam’s arms and Josie hung back a little. That particular part of the precinct was without nightclubs and so Mallory had a little peace for what she needed to do.
‘Who would have thought that after such a chance meeting we’d fall in love?’ she said as the warm memory of Sam wrapped its arms around her as she stood. This place had been the start of such an important time in her life. A time that had moulded her into the much more confident person she was right then. She removed a handful of ashes from the pot and let them drift away in the light breeze that wafted around the sheltered precinct.
Finally, she walked up to the coffee shop which was closed for the evening. She looked through the window where she could just about make out the table she had shared with Sam. Her palms pressed against the window, as did her forehead, almost searching for some connection to the past. She remembered how he looked at her and listened intently as she waffled on about rubbish. He had made her feel worth listening to. He made her feel sexy and attractive; wanted and needed.
‘I owe you so much Sam. I’ll never forget you.’ With tears glistening in her eyes and trailing their mark of sadness down her face she released the last of the ashes and said her final goodbye.
