Page 118 of The Affair
“She ended it with William because she still loved Papa?”
“We’ll never know for sure, but that’s what I choose to believe. Look at the letter she wrote. Read it again. I know you assume she’s speaking of William, but I hear her in my head. I hear her steady voice. She chose love; it’s just not the one you’re thinking of. My parents’ marriage wasn’t a perfect one—Lord knows if there’s even such a thing—but if there is one thing I learned from them, it is that love isn’t easy.”
“You can say that again,” I echoed.
“You asked me how I knew Daddy was the one? It wasn’t one single thing, sweetheart. There wasn’t a day or a feeling that pushed me in his direction. It was the knowledge that both of us were in it for the long haul. That we could make it work if we tried.”
“So, there’s no magic answer? I can’t cast a spell or consult a psychic to find out whether Sawyer is the one?”
She shook her head, amused by my words. “Nope. Sorry. All you can do is choose him. Choose him every day. Work for it. Fight for your love.”
“So, you think I should call him?” I grinned.
“No,” she answered, surprising me. “You should go to him.”
My heart fluttered at the thought.
Was I ready?
To take the plunge? To do the work?
To trust again?
There was only one way to find out.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that love is a messy sort of thing. There’s no one clear-cut path, and perhaps I took the wrong one.
But I chose.
* * *
With my nana’swords clear in my head, I leaped. The following day, after a tearful good-bye to my mom and brother, I was off, heading back to the life and the man I’d left behind. I didn’t know what the world had in store for us. I didn’t even know if he was mine anymore, but I was ready to find out.
Well, mostly ready.
I’d nearly chickened out and turned around about a dozen times already. But as the distance between us shortened, I felt renewed in my decision.
This was going to work.
Not because it was some preordained, cosmic plan. Not because we were fated to be together.
But because we would make it work.
Failure was not an option.
Using the fancy voice commands in my car, I called Candace to announce the good news.
“Hey! Guess who’s coming home,” I said when she picked up.
“Oh, really? I’m so glad! I missed you!” Her voice was high-pitched, matching her enthusiastic words.
“I missed you too.”
“Did you miss anyone else?” she pressed.
“Yes,” I answered. “More than I realized.”
“Aww, that’s so adorable.”
