Page 121 of The Problem with Falling
I couldn’t wrap my head around how kind Anna had been to me. Though her kindness wasn’t shocking. After all this time, she was exactly who she’d always been.
My clementine.
My favorite fruit.
My best friend.
“You know what I think you should do?” she asked me.
“What’s that?”
“Let that man love you. Some people think loving others is the hardest thing to do, but the truth is it’s much harder to allow yourself to be loved. It’s hard to make peace with your pastmistakes, with feeling unworthy, with self-doubts. It’s tough to believe that anyone would ever see the good in you, so a lot of people push others away. They think they are unworthy of love because of their missteps in life. But I think everyone deserves love. Maybe the broken ones deserve it a little bit more than most. So Willow…let him love you. If he is the man you’re claiming him to be, I bet he’ll love you forever, too, with no restraints. He’ll love you and still let you fly high while never asking you to change.”
I wiped my tears. “I missed you, Anna.”
“I missed you, too. Now go get your happily ever after. I’ll be here when you get back. Or, I’ll be in Paris, but you can always meet me there for a croissant or something, too,” she joked.
I hugged her for the longest time. We cried in one another’s arms and laughed like complete fools.
She told me she loved me after all the time that had passed.
“You love me? Still?” I whispered, stunned by her confession.
“Still,” she replied.
I cried harder.
So that was what unconditional love looked like—love that saw one’s flaws and still called them beautiful.
As she led me to the front door of her home to say goodbye, she called out to me. “Willow?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t be a stranger, okay? Whenever you’re in Honey Creek, please find me.”
I smiled. “I’ll find you in every lifetime, Anna.”
I knew she’d find me, too.
“You owe me a road trip on Big Bird, too,” she said, waving goodbye.
I promised her I’d take her wherever her heart desired. After we said goodbye, I cried during my whole way back to Westin Lake. It was time to face another fear.
The entire drive upto Westin Lake, I thought about what I’d actually say to Theo when I arrived. I’d want to tell him how I missed him so deeply and not a second had passed without me thinking about him. I’d been thinking about him every single day for the past few weeks.
Every day.
Every hour.
Every minute.
Every second.
When I found myself and Big Bird parked in front of his house late that evening, I took a deep breath.
I was scared, but I still knocked on his front door.
I held my breath the whole time I waited for him to answer, and when Theo opened the door, I released the breath and began to do what I’d done best. I began to yap. “Hi, oh, sorry. Are you busy? I should’ve called. I didn’t call, but I should’ve. I know this is random, and I should’ve called. Oh gosh, are you busy? I can come back later. I’m sorry I parked on your property. Do you have company? Gosh, this was stupid. I shouldn’t have just shown up uninvited and, well—”
