Fallon
I set the page down and pick up another tissue. I don’t think I’ve stopped crying since I started reading.
I check my phone and there’s a response from my father.
Dad: Hey! I’d love to, I miss you, too. Tell me when and where and I’ll be there.
I try not to cry when I read his text, but I can’t help but feel my bitterness has wasted a lot of good memories that could have been made with him. We’ll just have to make up for it over the next few years.
I’ve taken breaks to eat. To think. To breathe. It’s almost 7:00 p.m. now and I’ve only made it through half of the manuscript. I usually get through books in a matter of a few hours, but this has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to read in my life. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for Ben to write.
I glance at the next page, trying to decide if I need another break before beginning. When I see that this next chapter is the day we met in the restaurant, I decide to continue reading. I need to know what motivated him to show up there that day. And more so, why he made the choice to enter my life.
I sit back on the couch and take in a deep breath. And then I start reading chapter four of Ben’s manuscript.
