Page 55 of When You Say I Do

A nurse, with a kind and professional demeanor, greets us. "Good afternoon," she says. "Gloria is in the sitting room."

As we move into the sitting room, the sight that greets us is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Gloria, frail and aged, sits before an easel, her hands delicately moving across a canvas. She's painting a bowl of fruit, her strokes confident despite her frailty.

She doesn't respond to our presence, her eyes dim and hazy.

It's a painful reminder of the impermanence of life, of the cruel hand fate can deal.

Sasha stands beside me, her voice filled with a mix of love and sorrow. "She was diagnosed with dementia recently. It's been hard. We thought she might get better enough for a visit, but she's deteriorated rapidly. Now, all she wants to do is sit by the window and paint."

I watch Gloria, a legend in her own right, now lost in her own world. Even in her frail state, the talent that made her famous is unmistakable.

Sasha looks at me teary-eyed. “Please don’t be mad at Emily. She kept calling me to say she was going to tell you the truth. But I begged her not to. And she doesn’t even know about Gloria’s condition. I lied to her too.”

I place a hand over Sasha's, offering what comfort I can. "Thank you for telling me truth."

A peace settles over me.

As we walk back to the car, Sasha's revelations weigh heavily on me.

I tell her about my decision to walk away from the family business, to start anew.

Her face lights up when I offer to showcase Gloria's work in my new gallery. "That would be wonderful, I honestly don’t know how to thank you," she says, her eyes gleaming with gratitude.

The drive back is contemplative.

Sasha's story, Gloria's condition, Emily's betrayal – it all blends into a narrative of love, loss, and the complexities of human relationships.

"Where's Emily?" I finally ask, the question that's been burning in my mind.

Sasha looks out the window, her expression somber. "She's gone. Back to Snowdrop Valley. She's not speaking to me."

I'm silent, the news hitting me harder than I expected.

Snowdrop Valley – the place where it all began, and perhaps where it all ends.

I cast my eyes around the English countryside, a bittersweet happiness pours through my body.

As a young boy, I’d run through the woods, hopping over the fences on the farmer’s land and chasing sheep. The only blissful memories I have of my home country, are of times when my mother was alive.

Now, my homeland feels cold and unwelcoming, and another land calls my heart.

After all, now I see that everything Emily did was out of love.

She was just being a good friend.

And if Sasha is telling me the truth, she fell for me. And if that’s the case, I don’t even know what I’m doing here in England.

As I part ways with Sasha, a plan starts forming in my mind.

If I'm going to see Emily again, I need to do something big, something to show her how much she means to me.

I stand alone, looking out at the city that's been my home, my battleground.

But now, my heart is set on a small town, on a chance to mend what's broken, to reclaim a love that, despite everything, I still believe in.

EMILY

Sitting in my mother's kitchen, the familiar scents of bacon and pancakes fill the air, a bittersweet reminder of simpler times.

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