Page 77 of The One

“He’s not wrong,” Whitney said.

“Who isn’t wrong?”

“Rick,” Whitney said. “Maybe you don’t want to hear this, but it’s true. I think you held on too long for whatever reason you did. We all have our own, but based on what you said and what Rick said, he’s probably right. Guys see things we don’t at times and vice versa. I didn’t know Mike so I can’t make a judgment, but Trey has said things before.”

“Trey has always thought Mike was a wuss. That he never stood up to anyone and took the path of least resistance. He never used to be that way. It wasn’t until the last few years.”

“It’s possible you both just fell out of love. You were so young when you began.”

“I get it,” she said. “And what I feel for Rick is nothing like what I did for Mike.”

“Then it all worked out,” Whitney said. “If you stayed with Mike you might still be where you were. Neither of you would have been happy. Why can’t you accept that it just didn’t work out and you both have a chance at something better than you could have given each other?”

Normally her sister-in-law was all fun and games, but now she was giving some damn good advice.

“I didn’t think of it that way.”

“Why?”

“Maybe because I was too stuck myself. Still stuck and wondering what I did wrong so that I didn’t do it again.”

“Don’t look at it that way. You didn’t do anything wrong except not recognizing that the love was gone for both of you. Rick loves you for who you are. You’re a stronger person now than you were when you were dating Mike. That is what everyone says. To me, you’re still the young girl I knew before. I didn’t see the years in between.”

She wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged Whitney. “That might be the best thing you could have said to me.”

“I’m glad. Now what are you going to do? Go home or go talk to Rick? Is he the type that needs time or do you?”

“I don’t feel right not talking to him about it. I did that with Mike.” She held her hand up. “Not comparing. Just realizing it wasn’t healthy and what I’ve got with Rick is.”

“Then you know what you need to do,” Whitney said. “And my work here is done.”

Gillian turned and left and drove back to Rick’s feeling like such a fool.

She knocked on the door, heard George barking, Rick opening it and standing there. “No reason to knock,” he said. “The door is unlocked.”

“I didn’t know how welcome I’d be.”

“I wasn’t aware I was that much of an ass that I wouldn’t have you come back to talk.”

“You’re not,” she said. “I need to apologize for my behavior. I left and went to talk to Whitney. It was a reality check I needed.”

He took her jacket out of her hand and hung it up. “What did she say?”

“More of what you did. She pointed out that maybe I was blinded by other things and it took another guy to see what Mike was feeling. I’m not sure if he was or not and it doesn’t matter. What does matter is there are no hard feelings and Mike deserves to be happy just like me.”

“That’s right,” he said. “I don’t like to be compared to anyone and have known you were doing it for a while.”

“I’m not comparing you to anyone. Just the situation and my reaction to what happened in my life. What I could have done differently. As Whitney said, if I hadn’t left I might still be stuck there and miserable.”

“That’s right. So rather than beating yourself up, why don’t you accept that you had enough courage and strength to do what he couldn’t?”

She started to cry again. “You’re right. I know this is my problem and I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

“You did,” he said. “But not that much. I’ll survive. It had more to do with the fact that I can’t get you to see things. It makes me wonder if you believe me when I tell you I love you.”

“I do,” she said. “Don’t ever doubt that. As you’ve pointed out, I’ve spent so much time doubting myself that you can’t do it too.”

He pulled her into his arms. “I’ll stop if you do,” he said.

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