Chapter 43
“Is there anything else you think we should pick up for your move dear?” Hannah and her mother threw handfuls of shopping bags into the back of her mother’s jeep. They’d spent the past two days shopping for everything from sheets to new tweezers and completely exhausted they collapsed in the car immediately setting the air conditioning on high. It was hotter than hell outside and the mother and daughter pair was dripping in sweat.
“No, I think we got it all covered, more than covered,” Hannah laughed sarcastically. “I never realized how much was involved in moving.”
“Well, we want to cover all the bases because you’ll be awfully far away in a new place, we don’t want you forgetting anything. Now what do you say we go home, have some ice cold lemonade and salad for lunch. I’m whooped!”
“Sounds great, really great.” Since her last talk with Nick, Hannah had done nothing but occupy herself and focus entirely on her move, meaning she had spent no time relaxing. And now that everything was bought she had every intent on spending the next few days doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying the remainder of her time at home. Though Nick admittedly did cross her mind from time to time she had surprisingly well managed to forget him, or at least not cry for their lost love every other minute. Maturely she looked to the future, glad to have a new beginning in a new city. Things in her life were definitely changing for the better. ‘Maybe Nick and I weren’t meant to be together,’ she sighed to herself, ‘Maybe he was just a transition period to get my feet back on the ground.’ Her former tension returned as her mother pulled into the driveway to find Nick and his car awaiting their return. “Oh god,” she muttered not sure whether to talk to him or run straight inside.
“Looks like someone has a visitor,” her mother said cutting the engine. “Why don’t you invite him in for lunch?” she suggested.
“Because I don’t want him to have lunch with us. I didn’t want to ever see him again,” she snapped watching him stare directly at her through the windshield. Deciding to face the music she jumped out of the car and started towards him. “Imagine seeing you here, what do you want this time?” she yipped stopping before him with her hands firmly placed upon her hips.
“OK, now don’t kill me, but I wanted to see you again. I don’t know about you but I wasn’t happy with the way things ended the other day. I won’t stay long, I just came to give you this,” he pulled a packet out of is pocket and handed it to her. She studied it noticing what it was, “It’s a plane ticket, to Sweden,” he said looking down at her. “Now I know what you’re thinking, but I really am not forcing you to do anything. I leave tomorrow and when I bought my ticket I decided to get you one too in case you change your mind. The flight’s not till Sunday so you have time to think it over, I didn’t want to just throw this on you last minute.
Not sure what to say she flipped the ticket around in her hand trying to build up the courage to look at him. Thankfully he broke the dead silence, even though it probably would have been just as well for him to have said nothing at all. “I’m not going to stand in the way of what you want to do. So with this ticket, and your other one to California, the decision is entirely yours to make. I’ll understand no matter what you choose, but I wanted to do that for you. Give you the option to choose because I love you and whatever choice you make I’ll respect it one hundred percent.”
“Thank you for doing this, it was very generous of you,” she briefly looked at him, then immediately switched her attention to the garden behind him. “I know how hard this is for you, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”
“Is that it?” he asked looking at her. “You appreciate my thoughtfulness? Ok, thought you’d have a little more to say than that but whatever you want. I guess I’ll get going then,” he pulled the car keys from his pocket and took a step away from her, stopping and turning back. “Just one more thing,” he said as he approached her. Touching her chin he leant it towards him and bent down to kiss her one more time. As their lips met Hannah knew that she could not possibly forget his love. He had pulled the ultimate weapon on her, and she couldn’t resist him. Their love was too strong and too powerful to resist as she gave into him placing both arms upon his shoulders. Breaking away he bid her good-bye and got in his car. Still with the ticket warm in her hand Hannah licked her lips and walked inside the house.
“Well, what happened out there?” her mother asked cutting up a few carrots for their lunch.
“I don’t know, he bought me a plane ticket for Sweden on Sunday. I guess all that’s left for me to do is decide which flight to get on. California or Sweden?”
“And, which one do you think you’ll choose?” she asked mixing the sliced carrots into the bowl of romaine.
“I’m not sure,” she shook her head still dazed from their kissed. “But I better figure it out soon.’
“Want to know what I think?” her mother asked setting the bowl on the kitchen table ready to eat.
“Sure,” Hannah took a seat and started to pile some salad onto her plate.
“I think that you better be extremely careful. It’s not often that someone so wonderful as Nick comes a long, for most people it does not happen even once in their entire lives. And you have to realize that giving him up for an internship might short-term help your career, but in the long run you could be missing out on the most special thing that will ever happen to you.”
“So you think I should go with Nick?” she asked biting into a piece of celery.
“I think you should look closely at your options. And to be honest Hannah, I’d hate to think I raised my daughter to give up on true love for a job. You see my life, the things I gave up for your father and I don’t regret it for a minute. He did not even live that long, but I wouldn’t exchange the wonderful years I had with him for anything. And I want you to have that same love, and I see it with Nick.”
“Yes, but don’t you think I should be able to have both? I understand that Nick is wonderful and I can’t see myself loving anyone more than him, but to only have him? He’s making me give up something so important to me, and I just don’t think that’s right. So maybe Nick isn’t even the one for me. If I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with a man so perfect for me, he has to allow me to have a life of my own.” She set down her fork and swallowed her bite of salad, “And with Nick that doesn’t happen.”
“Well, if you decide to go to California I just know you’ll end up wondering what could have been with him.”
“Uh huh, and if I go to Sweden I’ll wonder everyday what could have been if I went to Los Angeles. It’s a lose/lose situation. Either way I’ll end up wondering if I made the right choice.”
“But look at it this way, would you rather make the wrong choice and have a career to live with? Or would you rather make the wrong choice and live with the man of your dreams, who loves you very much, for the rest of your life?”
“Geez Mom, I guess I see where your allies are!”
“No, I just want you to put a lot of thought into your decision. It’s a pretty big one to make and I don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“No matter what I do I’m going to have regrets, that’s not an issue.”
The phone rang interrupting their conversation and her mother was dragged out of the room with some saleswoman. Now alone at the table Hannah pulled the plane ticket out of her pocket and reviewed it closely. ‘What am I going to do?’ she cried, ‘What am I going to do?’
Chapter 44
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