Chapter 21
The house was bustling with activity, Anna threw her towel over her shoulder and turned from the oven to the stew peas and steamed vegetables she had on the stove. Steam filled the kitchen and she had to constantly wipe the sweat from her fore head with her rag, she could smell the barbeque Mike was working on in the back yard.
“Mom, they’re here!” Casey called out, as she hobbled toward the kitchen, she peeped in, her eyes wide with excitement.
She managed to walk these days without assistance from her crutch, and to Casey that was more than enough.
Anna frowned as she wiped her hand on the towel, “already?”
Casey nodded, “Want me to stall ‘em?”
Anna smiled knowingly, “yes go ahead, for as long as you like.”
Casey grinned and dashed out into the living room, Anna heard the door open and Casey’s warm, high pitched welcome, she could hear Brad’s deep baritone response and surprisingly enough, it sounded like nothing more than a baritone. No magic, no fluttered pulses, there was no wave or thunder clap, she shook her head and bent back to her work.
Brad wore a ridiculous, face splitting grin as he bent to embrace his daughter, “oh darling, how I’ve missed you,” he cried, almost lifting her off the ground.
Casey giggled and as he released her, her eyes travelled to the woman standing awkwardly behind him, clutching her purse in front of her like a shield.
“Hi,” she greeted.
Mara smiled back, “hello Casey, how are you?”
Casey nodded, “good, I’m walking without my crutch now, but mom says that I shouldn’t push it though, so sometimes she makes me use it.”
“Your mom’s right,” Brad agreed, his eyes travelling to the entrance of the kitchen, where Anna was leaning against the arch, arms folded across her chest, a pleasant smile on her face.
“Of course,” she said, her eyes fell on Mara, “Hello Mara, how are you?” she asked.
Mara nodded, “fine, you?”
“I’m great.”
There was an awkward silence that ensued, and it seemed no one knew how to break it, not even Casey. The last time they were here, there were all sorts of wounds to be salved, and so many truths to uncover. As they stood staring at each other, it became evident who was missing, Anna had been painfully aware of it.
Derek had returned home with Brad and Mara, after they’d dealt with the aftermath of Trent’s reign of terror and she hadn’t heard from him since. She couldn’t blame him, she had been closed up about her feelings and she had hurt him. Anna was just happy everyone was alright, and alright not just in the sense of being alive but alright with each other, everyone but her that is, but none of that mattered now, not to her, having lived with heartbreak for eleven years already, what was a few more until she got over Derek.
“I’m sorry Anna, Derek had to…” Brad started.
Anna held up a hand, “it’s okay, let’s go out back.”
About half an hour later they were all sitting out back at the tables Mike and Casey had set up. Mara helped Anna bring out the food, Brad couldn’t stop smiling; he was glad that his wife and the mother of his child were getting along so well. He wasn’t so sure about the inside jokes they seemed to be sharing though, he was certain they were talking about him.
Anna sat down next to Casey and smiled at her, “Alright guys let’s start,” she looked over at Brad, “would you like to say grace Brad?”
Brad nodded, “sure…”
Suddenly there was a loud crash. Anna gasped and shot to her feet and they all rushed out to the front of the house.
Parked on the short wall separating the pavement from the grass was a blue Corolla.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Anna exclaimed, looking in horror at the crushed buttercups, peeping out from under the wheel.
“Oh man, Anna I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention…”
Anna froze. Seeing Derek step out of that car seemed to have done something strange to her heart. He was standing there looking apologetically at her, his hands open at his side. He was dressed simply, in a polo T-shirt and long Khaki pants, but he was as handsome as ever.
Brad and Mike were already on the scene surveying the damage, Mara hovered over them as Casey watched from the door, but Derek and Anna didn’t move, they couldn’t.
“What are you doing here?” she finally managed, her voice sounding strange.
Derek shrugged, “I came to see you,” he had moved closer to her now, “I’ve missed you Anna.”
Anna clenched her jaw, she wasn’t about to admit that her sleepless nights and distress after the trouble with Trent were because of him, from the anxiety of wondering if she would ever see him again, and if she was strong enough to outlive this heartache too.
“It’s not that simple Derek, you can’t just drive up to my house, kill my flowers, tell me you miss me and everything would just be… peachy…” she took a deep breath, oblivious to those in the yard with them, “I… told you how I felt and we discussed this, we can’t logically make this work and…” she stopped, fighting to control her emotions.
“You’re right, we can’t not logically, no. I’m sorry, I really am, I panicked about a lot of things. The thing is, you’re usually quite right about things, but that’s also your weakness, you over think things too much. Here is a guy, who flew from another country, rented a beat up Corolla… Anna, I, Derek Armstrong, rented a Corolla…”
She smiled despite herself, deliberately trying to ignore the fact that he was getting closer and closer to her.
“…a guy who whacked his brain trying to remember where you live, and not only did he drive over your wall and puncture the tires on this car, he also killed your… beautiful flowers, all because this man is madly in love with this gem of a woman, a woman who reflects almost everything a man could ask God for in a mate. Integrity, honesty, brilliance, determination, beauty, faith; with eyes that seem to dance only for him, and yes it’s pretty complicated but not as complicated as trying to live without the woman that I love. We fight and we love with the same passion, what man is gonna give that up because it’s not logical. Faith and sacrifice is a more part of love than logic will ever be.”
He reached up and placed a hand on her cheek, feeling the warmth beneath his hand, he smiled into her face, “Let go Anna and let God do what he has to do with us, let go of all that nonsense in your past… and be my wife.”
Anna’s eyes widened and she gapped at him, “huh…”
He grinned, “be my wife Anna Wright, marry me.”
By now the others had picked up on what was going on; they were all looking on with interest and shock. It felt as though even the big roaring ocean was holding its breath, waiting to hear her response.
Anna turned to Casey, who was leaning on her crutch and to her surprise, Casey was grinning from ear to ear and nodding excitedly, as though she’d known how this would turn out all along. Anna smiled at her, then turned back to Derek.
“You know I could say yes now and in the next ten minutes we would be quarrelling about the filling in the tarts…”
Derek smiled, “you know you like that am attentive enough to argue about the filling in your tarts, besides fighting with you is fun, neither of us ever wins.”
She grinned, “you’re right, but if I marry you, I think we both would.”
Derek gapped, “is that a…” he arched his eyebrows quizzically.
Anna wrapped her arms around him and gently planted her response on his lips; the onlookers erupted with shouts of approval. Even Brad couldn’t help grinning, he had to admit, he’d never seen Anna this happy and if he had to choose, he wouldn’t have chosen anyone other than Derek for her. He pulled his wife closer and planted a kiss on her cheek, and she slipped her arm across his waist. He was glad he decided to fight for her.
Anna looked up into the eyes of the man she loved, now that she’d been given another shot at love, she wasn’t ab
out to mess it up.
“You know you have to replant my buttercups right?”
Derek grinned, “right after we eat darling, by the way, we are having pineapple tarts right?”
Anna chuckled, “you’ll see.”
As they made their way toward the house, and Anna wrapped her free arm around her daughter, she lifted up a silent prayer of thanksgiving. God truly had come through for her, he’d taken both her and Brad through the crossroads of broken hearts and brought them onto the right path of healing, lasting friendships and true love so that the pain of their past was now only a memory.
The End.
About the Author
Greetings reader, thank you for picking up Remember Yesterday and making it to this page in one piece. So about me, I am an undergraduate Psychology major at the University of the West Indies and former literature teacher. I currently reside on the beautiful island of Grenada, the island of my birth and home of my inspiration, which is often the main setting for most of my books. I’m a musician, occasional poet, and blogger.
Once again thank you for your support and I hope that you continue to check out my other books as they come. Don’t forget to leave a review at the retailer of your choice and let me know what you think. God bless you and as we say on Royalty Press, be a blessing. I’ll let you decide how to go about doing that.
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