Page 211 of Strange Seduction
I groaned. “Like what?”
“Anything. A message. In case we forget.”
I shifted in my chair, looking directly at the lens, eyes bleary from too much wine.
“Hm. Don’t let the little shit get too big,” I said. “And don’t forget that this right here—”
I looked off camera. Carmen must’ve panned the shot to include herself.
“This is all that matters, and it’s all mine.”
Next video.
It was a shaky, handheld shot of her exhaled breath as I tried to get the lens to focus on her while she was driving.
The screen went dark for a second, then lit up again—low battery.
I skipped through that, trying to get to my proposal and replay the last moments of our happiness.
“So, if you’ll have me,” the video began. “I want to grow old with you. I want to be the arms you come home to. I want to be your person. Your home. Your partner. Please, baby. Marry—”
The video cut. Then the screen went black.
Battery dead.
I leaned back on the couch with the camcorder still in my hands and stared up at the ceiling.
It still smelled like her in here. That faint mix of vanilla, cherries, and whatever oil she put in her hair.
She loved me.
And I let her go.
Because I thought it was the right thing to do. I thought that’s what grown men were supposed to do.
“You gotta let me go. Baby, please. Let me go,”she asked, and I actually did it. I swore I’d fight for her and promised her father I’d take care of her, but I still let her get on that plane.
I didn’t know how long I sat like that.
The day’s events played over and over in my head as I tried to figure out what I could’ve done differently. My conclusion was nothing.
Our truth lay somewhere in the middle. We loved each other enough to know what we had right now was not sustainable. But we knew that our futures would intertwine beyond our current understanding.
So for now, it was okay that we parted. It simply meant that when we met again, it would be extraordinary.
Epilogue.
Twelve hours later.
Theo: Did you get in safely?
Carmen: Yeah. Just got to my apartment.
Theo: Okay, great. Can I call you?
Carmen: Not tonight, Theo. I need space to figure out how to navigate this.
Theo: Okay. I respect that.
